April 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 51

" The day before Christmas, and without notice,
my administrator came to my desk and told me very
casually that the township committee has voted in executive session to reduce my hours from 35 to 28 with
an $18,000 cut in pay and my assistant from 35 hours
to 14 (she was able to recoup her hours and pick up
more hours of a clerical nature in the construction department), " Ray says. " Just like that, our department
was cut by 40 percent. Now I am forced to cut what I
do by 40 percent.
" The mayor further explained that the township
committee simply decided to go for the bronze or silver recreation department, instead of the gold standard our municipality has come to enjoy. The other

problem
is while our
Recreation Department programs
are very financially successful and more than self-sustaining, our recreation department
salaries cannot be paid out of the trust. "
In one way or another, what's happening
in Bedminster's parks department is playing out
simultaneously across the country. Each agency or
park district differs in subtle and significant ways,
depending on how it is funded or administered.
Thus, every story is different, with some areas unscathed while others face major staff cuts or even
outright closure of parks. What's similar, though, is
the prevailing view among agency directors that this
economic cycle is vastly different from previous episodes. " Game changer " is the frequent term used
to describe the situation facing parks and recreation
today. Most accept with equal parts anger and resignation that coming out of this recession, the field of
parks and recreation will be approached much differently than even just two or three years ago.
The conditions that dealt body blows to Wall
Street, Detroit, and real estate markets in 2008
amounted to the first " shoe " falling. Although those
events were dire, much of industry is recovering,
just as the fallout is striking municipalities large and
small. The $150 billion federal stimulus program for
cities and states has come to an end, further exposing the effects of diminished sales and income taxes
as well as numerous fees associated with real estate
development. That's the other " shoe " presently falling across the country. The U.S. Census Department

estimated a 30 percent drop in finances of all state
governments in 2009, a figure that has risen slightly
over the past year. While many municipal agency
directors anticipated shortfalls, very few foresaw the
extent of its severity or the partisan response from
state houses and the 112th Congress in Washington.
What many had hoped would have been a strategic response to recession has mostly become a
matter of every person for him/herself. As Chicago Mayor Richard Daley told a meeting of the U.S.
Council of Mayors, " The idea that we come down
to Washington, and they have all this money-it's
wrong. Those days are over. "

" It is drastic, and it is going to be
devastating, " says Barbara Tulipane,
NRPA Chief Executive Officer. " Who is
going to be hurt is the general public-
at a time when there is so much stress
because of the financial hardships
people are facing with 9 percent
unemployment. " Our services are
needed now more than ever, and yet
our agencies are being decimated. "
Barbara Tulipane

Houston, Texas
In Houston, Texas, Parks Director Joe Turner knew
belt tightening was coming for his 350-park organization. The handwriting had been on the wall since
2009, when his budget was $70.2 million. A year later, that figure dropped to $65.9 million, then $63.3
million in 2011. Turner's proposed 2012 budget is
$49 million. After such annual " givens " as utilities,
telecom, and even an $8 million payment for its outsourced zoo operations, the figure drops even further, to $31 million to run his system.
Houston, a city of 2.5 million residents, has been
through recessions before, but this will be the first
time that citizens will really be able to notice the effects, Turner says. The city overall projects 2,300 layoffs of its employees, of which 225 to 250 will come
from parks and recreation. " Those reductions will
definitely be in our recreation and wellness division
and the division that maintains our park and green
spaces. "
For example, where his department could cut

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Parks & Recreation 49

April 2011 - Parks & Recreation

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