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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 17 J U LY 1 3 , 2 0 1 5 But high visitation doesn't mean high fund- ing levels, and across the park service, there is an estimated $11.5 billion in deferred maintenance — much of it roads and bridges. Acadia's operations budget, which is funded by Congress, has been unable to keep up with needs, resulting in personnel, maintenance and construc- tion cutbacks. On the surface, that may be tricky for casual observers to wrap their head around. Acadia's roads are in excellent condition, thanks to Federal Lands Transportation Program and gas-tax money that come to the park independent of the operating budget. e park's iconic carriage roads, built in the early 1900s, and hiking trails are also well-funded, through endowments. " e public sees fresh pavement on the roads, and they think everything's great at Acadia," says Steele. "But it's the operating budget that's under the most stress, and you don't see that." Acadia receives money from four major sources. Two pots come via congressional appropriation for operations and for project funds awarded by com- petition on a one-year basis. Other major sources include private donations and fees from commercial users, such as concessions, and from visitors. For fi scal year 2015, Acadia received $7.985 mil- lion for operations. at sum, covering about 49% of Acadia's budget, represents an increase of $903,000 over the FY 2014 appropriation of $7.082 million. In FY 2014, project funds of $4.727 million accounted for 29% of the budget, fees of $2.137 mil- lion were 13%, and endowment funds and dona- tions were $1.435 million, or 9%. Entrance fees and endowment funds tend to remain stable, says Kelly. "Fees are based on visitation, so we really don't know what we've got until we've got it, but the numbers are usually within a certain percentile from year to year," Kelly says. "A big swing would be a visitation diff erence of 10% to 13%, but we don't usually see that. We see 3% to 5% fl uctuation one way or the other in visitation." Acadia makes up for its underfunded budget by prioritizing personnel hires, selectively deferring maintenance projects, and putting off certain con- struction projects. More than a decade ago, the park eliminated some staff positions through attrition, focusing on front-line public service. "Law enforcement, emergency medical services, search and rescue, fi re protection — those are all fi rst in line," says Kelly. Staffi ng has remained stable in recent years. For now, the park has 70 permanent full-time equiva- lents, or about 90 individuals. Seasonal staff consists of about 60 FTE, or about 150 individuals. But that still represents a defi cit on the perma- nent, year-round staff of approximately 10 key per- sonnel. And that could have real consequences for the park, Steele says. "We keep trimming around the edges," Steele says. "We've left a number of permanent positions vacant so we can protect the seasonal hiring, because that's where most of the services are seen by the pub- lic. Visitor center hours, for example, are pretty much back to what we would consider a normal year. But we've sacrifi ced a number of permanent positions in order to do that. I guess you would say that's okay in the short term, but it's not okay in the long term." For example, the staff once included a botanist, considered key for resource protection. "Exotic plants, for example, are spreading in the park, and we need to control it. We also have diseased trees. We're work- ing on it, but we don't have the full-time focus that we would if we had a botanist on staff ," Steele says. Deferred maintenance projects in Acadia amount to $57.6 million, which includes approximately $10.2 million for trails, $19.2 million for paved roads and associated bridges, $8.4 million for buildings, $1.1 mil- lion for employee housing, $165,000 for campgrounds, $1.9 million for waste waters systems, $850,000 for water systems, $11.2 million for unpaved roads and $4.4 million for other needs. Nationally, the estimate for deferred maintenance continues to grow, from $11.3 billion in FY 2013 to the current $11.5 billion. Aging facilities and scarce resources have combined with a growing number of visitors. To hold the deferred maintenance backlog steady nationwide, it would take approximately $820 million a year, while for FY 2015 there is about $470 million available, leaving a funding gap of $350 million. Additional revenue generated by a new entrance fee schedule, implemented this summer, will go toward the backlog. e fee increases are small; for example, the seven-day vehicle pass went from $20 to $25. Today, some of the operations money cut in previ- ous years has been restored. But in terms of net oper- ating dollars, the FY 2015 appropriation, although an increase over FY 2014, still leaves the park below where it was several years ago, says Steele. With infl a- tion, the real value has gone down in recent years. " is situation is made much worse by increases in visitation and the growing length of the busiest season," Steele says. "In order to enter the next century of Acadia's existence, we need to address the problems of dealing with large numbers of people, six months of the year. It's becoming more and more of a challenge as our budget shrinks. But Acadia would be in even more diffi cult circumstances if it were not for volun- teers and private donors. We get about $1 million a year in private funding. And last year, we had nearly 4,000 individual volunteers helping with public informa- tion, maintenance, resources management, emergency response and administration. It is an inspiration to see these folks of all ages come in large numbers to help us manage the park and serve the public." L aUr i e S c h r e i Be r, a w r i te r ba s e d i n B a s s Ha r bo r, c a n b e r e a c h e d a t e D i t o r i a l @ m a i n e B i Z . B i Z Sales start before before before before before before before before your salesperson calls. your salesperson calls. Sales start before your salesperson calls. Contact Publisher Donna Brassard at 207.761.8379 x327 or donnab@mainebiz.biz Now, what was it you wanted to sell me? who you are, your company, your company's record, your company's product, your company's reputation, your company's customers, or what your company stands for. I don't know… Warm up your cold calls with local B2B media advertising. Opportunities abound for experienced accountants at Albin, Randall & Bennett! Our clients are big, but our culture is friendly. We are growing and need experienced accountants who want to: • Become an expert in the industries we serve • Supervise, train and evaluate a team • Structure, oversee and collaborate with our leadership team • Lead client service teams, ensuring that clients are ecstatic. ARB offers flexibility, aggressive pay and great benefits. Learn more about the markets we serve and our career opportunities at www.arbcpa.com. WORK with us. apply at arbcpa.com/careers In order to enter the In order to enter the In order to enter the In order to enter the In order to enter the In order to enter the In order to enter the In order to enter the In order to enter the next century of Acadia's next century of Acadia's next century of Acadia's next century of Acadia's next century of Acadia's next century of Acadia's next century of Acadia's next century of Acadia's next century of Acadia's next century of Acadia's next century of Acadia's next century of Acadia's next century of Acadia's existence, we need to address the problems of dealing with large numbers of people, six months of the year. It's becoming more and more of a challenge as our budget shrinks. — Sheridan Steele, Acadia superintendent

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