Budget Shortfall Impacts on Recreation & Parks   

Like many businesses and families, the City of Santa Rosa Recreation & Parks Department has been negatively affected by the downturn in the economy.  Drops in City tax revenues from declines in property and sales tax revenues, as well as development impact fees, have required a series of cuts to balance our budget. Despite budget cuts, the City remains committed to providing exceptional programs and park services to the Santa Rosa Community.

Expense Reductions:  Recreation & Parks budget has been reduced by nearly $555,000 this current fiscal year (July 1, 2008 – June 30, 2009).  Most of the savings comes from a reduction in personnel.  Other savings comes from cuts to materials, supplies, travel, training, and service level reductions.  We have also been asked to absorb increases in costs for items such as water and fuel.  The outlook for our department has become even more grim for the next fiscal year ‘09/10. We have been asked to reduce our budget by another 2.8 million dollars.

Revenue generation: User fees and rental rates will be increased in some programs to offset the cost of providing the service.  The Department will continue to offer a limited number of free and low cost programs for children and families who are financially disadvantaged.  We encourage those families to apply for scholarship funds so they can participate in our programs and we welcome the community to keep donating to our scholarship fund. 

Core Services: During the coming year, the department will be focusing our efforts on providing core services.  Core services include maintaining a balanced recreational program for all ages, even if we can’t offer every program we have always offered.  Another core service is to provide safe and clean parks where kids can play and families can gather to socialize and enjoy nature.

Reduced Operating hours:  As of January 1, 2009, Steele Lane Community Center has cut two customer service positions and has reduced its operating hours and programs.  All of the programs for seniors have been moved to the Bennett Valley Senior Center and the Finley Community Center.  The center will still be rented to outside groups when full cost recovery can be achieved. 

Maintenance: The frequency and level of maintenance to our parks and facilities has been reduced or modified to match available funding, and a significant number of positions have been cut.  Future staffing reductions will affect the level of maintenance even more. Reduced frequencies of mowing, aeration, fertilization, shrub and tree pruning, watering, and trash removal may be noticeable.  We will be exploring alternative service delivery models to determine whether or not additional cost savings can be achieved. However, we are concerned that our park patrons may be affected by not having park issues resolved in a timely fashion.

We encourage our residents to enjoy our city parks, community centers, swim facilities and all of the programs we have to offer.  If you have concerns or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact us at (707)543-3282 or 543-3737.  In addition, there will be regular updates about the city’s budget at www.srcity.org.

Sincerely,

Marc Richardson

Assistant City Manager/Recreation & Parks Department