Recreation & Fun

This morning, our Department held an all-staff, town hall-style meeting on our upcoming budget process for Fiscal Year 2010-11. Our employees are some of the most dedicated and creative workers in the city, and we’re going to need their talent and expertise in the next several months to help meet some very tough goals.

This budget cycle will be challenging, to say the least. The City is faced with a nearly half-billion dollar deficit for the upcoming year, and city departments, including ours, will feel the pinch. Rec and Park is faced with a reduction of $12.4 million in General Fund dollars, meaning that we’ll have to make some serious decisions in the coming weeks to balance our budget.

We’re asking our employees for their input on how we can save or generate income to meet our obligations. It won’t be easy, and the conversations we have will surely be difficult, but in the end, I know we’ll pull through. We have to.

In the next coming weeks, we’ll also be turning to the public for their input as we host four community meetings:

January 25 at Richmond Recreation Center, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

January 26 at Gene Friend Recreation Center, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

February 1 at Joseph Lee Recreation Center, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

February 3 at Sunset Recreation Center, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.