Jun. 6--As summer temperatures rise, recreationists with disabilities from around the East Valley will take to the waters kayaking or air-conditioned gyms for basketball.

Programs like these used to be partially funded by Mesa, but that aid has largely dried up in the wake of a more than $60 million budget shortfall.

Fortunately, Lane Jeppesen, the executive director of Arizona Disabled Sports, said her Mesa-based nonprofit found another hope spring to pick up the slack left when the city scaled back its funding. Private donors stepped up to keep the kayak program alive.

Basketball and floor hockey will remain, as well, but for the first time the sports will have a $35 to $45 fee per person for participants.

A similar story is unfolding in other East Valley cities, where officials are hard-pressed to levy fee increases for a variety of services that were once more affordable to residents, or in some cases entirely free.

Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert and Queen Creek officials have all reported grappling with budget deficits that extend from the latter part of 2008 into the foreseeable future.

MESA'S MONEY

In Mesa, utilities as well as parks and recreation fees, will send residents digging ever deeper into their change purses as the city grapples with a budget deficit.

Mayor Scott Smith and council members voted last week to increase utility rates for natural gas, water and wastewater.

Councilwoman Dina Higgins said some of the utility rates would help in the city's initiative to change wooden power poles to steel and concrete.

"Not all the rates increased; some of the rates were way low and we brought them up to the median, as well," Higgins said.

Council members unanimously voted to increase utilities, which could be considered a trend as other cities stepped in line upping rates for services, such as water and trash.

But rate adjustments don't just affect the necessities.

Parkgoers seeking activities outdoors will see higher fees in most East Valley cities, including those looking to cool off at Mesa pools.

Prices have gone up for children and adults alike, said Darla Armfield, a recreation supervisor for Mesa's aquatic programs.

Children 17 and younger will pay $1.75, up from $1.50; adults will have to pay $3.50, instead of last year's $3 admission fee.

Even with the hikes, it's a far cry from paying for all the maintenance and manpower required to run the city's eight remaining pools, Armfield said.

"The swimming pools never break even -- they're always subsidized by the city," she said, noting that the school district shares some of the cost by paying for utilities.