Politics & Government
DeKalb Parks and Recreation To Hire Instructors as Contractors, Not Employees
Tough economic times led to the move, expected to take effect in January, county says.
Internal changes are on the horizon for the DeKalb County’s Park and Recreation department.
The county announced that it will no longer hire instructors as employees; instead instructors will work as independent contractors for the county.
“As independent contractors, instructors will get a 1099 and will have to declare themselves a small business. We have an agreement with instructors that would allow them 70 percent of the fees and the county would get 30 percent. They also will be [responsible] for their own liability insurance,” said Marvin Billups, deputy director of DeKalb Parks and Recreation.
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Billups explained the reason the county opted for this change: “We, too, have been affected by the economic times," he said. "Sometimes a class was supposed to have 15 students enrolled, but ended up having only five. The county was underwriting the gap and that was not good for the county’s [finances]. We had to bite the bullet and cover the loss.”
“This year’s budget will be tighter than last year. Our department has been encouraged to think outside the box. [This change] will allow us to save revenue and help the current recreation centers stay open," Billups said.
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Billups shared that the county sees the changes as something that can better serve the community. “We were allocated $500,000 for programming and each year the monies have gotten smaller and smaller. We had to cut back on classes. There was a need for additional programs, but we had no more money."
“[Now] our programs will be more diverse and we will have more flexibility to meet the needs of the community. If every instructor is an independent contractor we can offer more programs. This will hopefully open up new opportunities for [other] entrepreneurs."
Billups said he realizes that some of the instructors may feel uneasy about the new changes and fear that it will have negative repercussions. “We are not abandoning our instructors. The parks and recreation department will help to promote any classes that instructors offer. This will be a partnership. We will help them.”
The new changes are expected to take place in January 2012.
