The city no longer wants residents to have fun.

Forget going to the beach, playing softball or having picnics. Under City Manager Roger Crum’s proposed budget, the city soon will be taxing fun even more than it already does.

“If everything were free, more people would use them,” Crum told The Daily in an article Wednesday.

The proposed 2003-04 Parks/Forestry and Recreation Department budget increases the price of beach tokens, softball league fees and picnic reservations. It also adds fees for fire rings; raising banners at Grey Park, near Main Street and Ridge Avenue; boat launches; and bus rides to the Levy Senior Center, 300 Dodge Ave.

The fees will bring in more than $57,600 — or 1.65 percent of the city’s $3.5 million deficit.

Barely a drop in the bucket, all things considered. But then, the city needs as much help as it can get to extract itself from the budget crunch it has faced for more than 30 years.

“Next year we’ll have a problem balancing the budget, probably,” Crum said. “I don’t know why next year would be any different.”

But as Crum points out, the city may have found an ingenious way to raise money without pissing off residents.

“Most people expect prices to go up each year a little bit,” he said.

That’s where the fee increases come in. The city’s thinking seems to be: Raise fees nominally, make money — and reduce the deficit. Pretty smart.

Except for the fact that Evanston’s money issues are a “structural problem” because Evanston is a non-growth community with no industry. Translation: Evanston can’t make money on its own.

This problem, Crum said, means that every year expenses will increase by the cost of living, while revenues will only increase by half that.

Evanston has to tax, and it has chosen to do so inconspicuously by raising the cost of fun.

Some residents say the fees are nothing more than “sneaky taxation” maneuvers by the city. And they would be right. Kathryn Skelton, of the 2700 block of Isabella Street, for example, said she would rather see a property tax increase.

And Ramon Vazquez, of the 1000 block of Darrow Avenue, said he thought the increased fees would drive away business.

But Doug Gaynor, the department director for Parks/Forestry and Recreation, said the city tries to balance its fees against the fees of neighboring cities. And before the proposed increases, Evanston’s fees were comparable to those in Skokie for softball and picnic outtings. Neither the fees for beach tokens, fire rings or raising banners apply to Skokie, Reynolds said.

Under the proposed increases, Evanston residents would pay $27 — $1 more than the current price — for beach tokens valid between June and August.

Softball league fees would increase from $500 to $600 per team. Skokie currently charges $450 per team, said Kim Reynolds, a customer service supervisor for Skokie Park District.

And picnic reservation costs will increase from $10 to $50, although Recreations Supervisor Jim Ferrera seemed a little confused by this fee, pointing out that Evanston currently charges $20 for two hours of picnic time and $40 for three hours. He said he does not know where the $10 figure came from and has heard nothing about this proposed increase.

Whichever side of the fee fence you fall on — ingenious idea or sneaky taxation — the budget monster has the city in a headlock. And the city is saying, “Pay up or stop playing.”

Assistant City Editor Erin Ailworth is a Medill senior. She can be reached [email protected].