February 2024 - Parks and Recreation - 19

sensible budget range. There is no
hard cap on the size of an individual
earmark, but projects have the
best chance of success if they fall
between a couple hundred thousand
to a few million dollars. Remember,
the average size is about
$2 million. Projects that already
have funds but need a little extra to
get them across the finish line are
great places to look as these show
a commitment at the local level.
* Select projects that are not political
landmines for your lawmakers.
Understand the values
and viewpoints of the lawmaker
with whom you are working.
These projects must not only
earn the support of your lawmaker,
but also will be approved
by the entire Congress and covered
in the local press once the
project gets underway.
In project selection, communicate
with your jurisdiction's appropriate
executive and budget staff to make
sure your request has their sign-off,
if needed. Coordinate with other departments
in your jurisdiction as well
to make sure you have a united front
as one agency, rather than making
competing requests.
Lawmaker Engagement
and Application
Connecting with your lawmakers
outside the earmark process is an
important step in building ongoing
and lasting relationships that
will aid you when your application
is under review. Coordinate with
your jurisdiction's government affairs
team members,
if possible,
who work with the federal delegation
on a regular basis and provide
a tour so your lawmaker is aware
of the situation you are trying to
solve for your shared constituency.
Once you have identified projects
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that you would like to submit, contact
your representative and senators'
staff to familiarize them with your
proposal and gather any feedback
they may have ahead of formal submission.
NRPA recommends taking
the following steps:
* Call the main office phone number
of the representative(s) and
senators for the community your
project will benefit.
* Tell the person who answers that
you are interested in sending in
an earmark request for a park
project in FY25 appropriations.
* Ask if the office will be accepting
earmark requests and how to access
the office's application.
* Ask for the name of the staff
member who will be working on
this kind of earmark request and
get their contact information so
you can schedule a preliminary
meeting about your topic. Ideally,
this meeting will take place
before you submit your request
form so that when they receive
the form, they are already familiar
with the value your project
will bring to the community.
Also, coordinate with as many local
stakeholders as possible to demonstrate
the broad base of constituents
supporting your project. Letters from
mayors/county executives, community
groups and others alongside your
application can go a long way.
Once you receive an
earmark
award, publicly acknowledge the support
of your federal lawmakers. Host
an event and highlight what the collaboration
brought to fruition.
Calli Wilsey is the Director of Policy and
Strategy for the City of Reno, Nevada.
PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G | FEBR U AR Y 2 0 2 4 | Parks & Recreation
19
February 2024 - Parks and Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2024 - Parks and Recreation
