Franklin County Commissioners have agreed to revisit a county policy to fund local youth sports teams

County Commissioners have agreed to revisit a county policy to fund local youth sports teams that earn a place in a state or national tournament.

Currently the county helps teams with travel expenses by providing 2500 dollars to teams going to a state tournament and 5000 dollars for youth teams reaching the national level.

It has been pointed out that there is a problem with the program in that all teams receive the same amount regardless of how far they have to travel to compete.

Parks and Recreation Director Fonda Davis said he has received some concerns about the “one size fits all” policy.

Commission Chairman Smokey Parrish said he has heard similar concerns pointing out that some teams might travel 100 miles for a tournament while another might travel 700 miles, yet both teams get the same amount from the county.

Fonda said he feels the program should take mileage into account as well as the fundraising efforts by the teams themselves.

Davis said the county might want to consider making the payments a match for funds the teams raise of up to 2500 dollars for state tournaments and 5000 dollars for national events.

Commissioners have not yet made any changes to the policy and have asked that Fonda rework the policy for consideration at a future commission meeting.

http://live.oysterradio.com/