Posted by
Katy Grimes on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 6:09:39 PM
In recent headlines in
The Sacramento Bee, reporter Ryan Lyllis wrote how the city's budget shortfall was heading right for the parks - the bottom line, that is. City budgeteers are proposing a 35% budget cut for the department of Parks... but not for the Recreation side of the department.
http://www.sacbee.com/government/story/1844020.html
The neighborhood in which I live surrounds Sacramento's largest regional park, William Land Park, and the neighbors are spitting mad. There has been no talk of cutting the excessive staff in the city - only parks maintenance and services.
Within the Department of Parks and Recreation, the parks budget is pretty straightforward and typical: maintenance, repairs, projects and restorations. The Recreation side of the department however, is bloated with lots of interesting departments: pools & aquatics, senior enrichment classes, a travel agency, teen "health" centers, neighborhood block party planners, a skate park, day care centers, and even 17 community centers (all of which require staffing).
Last week, 65 people from my neighborhood attended the City Council meeting and present an optional budget proposal to the council, instead of allowing the parks to fall into blight. Not just for our neighborhood, but for every Sacramento neighborhood where a park is located. We testified about what happens to parks when the maintenance ceases and bathrooms close: public urination (and worse), crime, drugs, gangs take over. Additionally, the city would have to spend an inordinate amount of money to get the parks back into shape once the economy recovers.
We proposed privatizing park maintenance, saving the city at least 60% of the existing cost due to the union contracts under which city parks employees currently work.
With a city council of all Democrats save one, it is the unions who put each council member into office. Consequently, no one will even broach the discussion of cutting union jobs... or pay... or benefits... muchless privatizing any city services.
Last night the City Council met again (here is the agenda and video link
skip to Public Testimony Parks for testimony.
In the meeting, it was brought up that the city found some additional money for Parks and Rec. When asked where and how, the City Finance Director stated that there are several lighting and landscaping assessment districts. They did an audit and "added parcels." They will use this money to "backfill the loss of general funds."
The city just "added parcels" to an existing assessment district - wait until the property owners find out. These people will not cut a thing out of the budget as long as it is tied to union jobs.
Meanwhile, our park is looking really neglected and blighted in some areas, but not one city parks department employee has been let go. Where are they working? Who ordered them to stop mowing and maintaining the park? My guess - One of their bloated union middle managers.
The funny thing is that adjacent to our park is the Land Park Golf course - beautifully maintained... privately. We refer to this as "union grass" and "non-union grass."