The Arizona State Parks department received 12 grant applications this spring requesting approx. $6.5 million from the State Lake Improvement Fund (SLIF). Unfortunately, because of legislative budget sweeps, those monies must be released to the legislature by August 15th, 2008, so the Arizona State Parks Board reluctantly had to release those monies back to the General Fund.
According to Bill Scalzo, Chair of the Arizona State Parks Board, "The State Lake Improvement Fund bill was passed so that tax monies from boat fuel could be used for safety improvements on the lakes, for better law enforcement and boating access. These safety improvements now cannot be made and we are forced to move the money to the General Fund for other uses."
"We had no choice but to cancel these grants as the funds were swept from the accounts by the legislature," he said. "The State Parks department has struggled since the last round of sweeps in 2002. At that time the agency was forced to use its capital improvement funds from SLIF ($2.3 million) to operate the parks. Now the parks are facing many crises as the historic structures and the infrastructures at the parks are deteriorating and we can't make any improvements."
Arizona's State Lake Improvement Fund (SLIF) program was established in 1960 by the Arizona State Legislature to assist state and local units of government to fund projects on waters where boats are permitted. SLIF revenues are generated from a percentage of the state motor vehicle fuel taxes attributed to watercraft and motorized watercraft license taxes paid at the time of boat registration, and interest income on the fund. Funded projects include water-based recreation amenities such as boat launch ramps, restrooms, and campgrounds, as well as lake construction or improvement, and law enforcement watercraft. Since 1960, more than 300 important water-recreation related projects have been funded with more than $58 million from this tax on boater's fuel and licenses.
The SLIF program is administered through a competitive grant process administered by the Arizona State Parks Board. Applications are evaluated against a rating criterion, which is based on a statewide survey of lake recreational needs and documentation of local needs and priorities. Applications are accepted annually in December, followed by awards by the Parks Board in September. The Legislature's Joint Committee on Capital Review reviews the awarded projects before State Parks can enter into the participant agreements obligating the funds.