Stealth Donation Collection Earns Parks Millions

However, KIRO Team 7 Investigative Reporter Chris Halsne reveals the increase is not entirely an act of heart-warming charity.

We exposed the financial magic surrounding something called the "Montana Plan."

Six months ago, the State Parks Department started billing every car owner in Washington an automatic $5 donation, then hoped a large percentage of you wouldn't notice.

It worked.

KIRO Team 7 investigators show how this wildly successful fundraising idea is disproportionately affecting those who can least afford it.

In years past, when it came time to get new tabs, car owners had the option of donating $5 to help state parks.

PDF: Refund Request Form

Public records obtained by KIRO Team 7 Investigators show 2 to 3 percent of us voluntarily added that amount to licensing renewal bills each month. Then suddenly, last summer, the numbers of donors jumped above 50 percent.

That matches when the state started rolling that five bucks into the "total;" allowing you the option of taking it away.

It resulted in large amounts of cash rolling into State Parks Department coffers.

The old system generated on average about $57,000 a month. The new System averages about $1million a month.

“I'm looking at it and 'wait a minute' – I don't like that!', says taxpayer Rick Miller. When he received his tabs renewal form last month, he almost paid the dollar amount listed on the "total line," then noticed wording that made him feel like he'd been scammed.

“'If you don't wish to donate, subtract $5.' That got me a little suspicious. It shows that somebody made a really slick move - they put it in there and added it already into the total," said Miller.

KIRO Team 7 Investigators calculated the differences between the number of people donating $5 to parks under the old opt-in program, and the new opt-out billing. The numbers are staggering. We ran three month averages and found:

Historically, about 1.6 percent of Pierce County car owners added a $5 donation to parks. That number recently spiked to a 56.4 percent. That’s a 3,425 percent increase.

Garfield County has one of the highest elderly populations in the state. About 0.1 percent voluntarily donated previously. Now more than 42 percent do.

That’s essentially a 42,000 percent increase in charitable parks giving from citizens of Garfield County.

Residents of Adams County, which has one of the highest Hispanic populations in Washington, increased donations to parks by 11,383 percent.

“Our people love parks, but I don't think that's what's motivating them,” Estela Ortega, executive director of El Centro de la Raza, told us after we shared with her our research analysis.

The math plainly shows poor counties, less educated counties, and places with high non-English speaking populations are "donating" at a disproportionately high rate.

Ortega isn’t pleased, even telling us even she recently paid the $5 donation without realizing it.

“I think it’s a case of taxation without representation because people don't know what they're paying for," said Ortega.

Since the mail-to-homes tabs renewal forms are in English only, it's possible, not everyone could read the state's notations that the parks donation is optional.

State Parks Director, Rex Derr, says his office has been "as transparent as possible."

“There are three places in bold type on that form that lets people know the $5 for parks to keep them open is included in the bottom line and it’s their choice to take it out,” Derr tells Halsne.

But internal government documents KIRO Team 7 Investigators obtained from Derr's computer hard drive might make taxpayers feel like the fix was in.

For example, one memo says, "Keep your fingers crossed for the passage of a license plate fee that doesn't make it too easy for folks to opt out!"

The note was originally written by the Executive Director of the National Association of State Park Directors, Phil McKnelly, and forwarded by Derr to other parks commissioners.

That might indicate there is some national coordination for other states to implement a similar donation structure to raise money.

Another email celebrates when the Washington Attorney General’s office gives Parks an informal option that the $5 collection is “NOT a tax, NOT a fee…still a donation!”

Derr maintains the dramatic increases we calculated are not due to deception.

“Vacations and leisure time and appreciation of parks in difficult economic times seems to go up and I think some of that increase - a significant part of it- is tied to that," said Derr.

Team 7 Investigators stood outside a licensing tab office and asked a half dozen people who just paid their tabs. Only one noticed the $5 parks donation.

Citizen #1: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s. If everybody wants to be sneaky, I'm not going to waste my time and stress about it. Pretty disgusting though.”

Citizen #2: "Actually, I like that approach because a lot of people use the parks but don't necessarily pay for the parks or want to pay for the parks.”

Citizen #3: “Sounds like extortion. They've got money for all sorts of crap and they can't fund the parks? That's a disgrace.”

Team 7 Investigators also discovered the money from the extra donations is not paying for additional park improvements or upgrades.

Washington state lawmakers slashed the state parks general budget from $90 to $48 million once they found out this scheme would offset that cut.

If you donated money by accident and want your $5 back, the Parks Departments says it will give it to you.

PDF: Refund Request