banner

How City Budget Cuts Will Harm Preserves
 

For a printer friendly Word version of the budget analysis below, click HERE

For information on budget effects regarding Park Rangers, click HERE.

For information on budget effects regarding visitor centers and preserves, click HERE.

For contact information for your Mayor and City Council members, click HERE.Hello fellow PMPC Members. As I know you are aware, we are facing a budget crisis as the City of Phoenix attempts to balance their budget. The City Manager of Phoenix has proposed cuts of $140 million and elimination of nearly 1,400 positions. The severity and the impact of the proposed cuts will affect all of us and our quality of life, and in more ways than simply our own specific concern for the parks and preserves. It is for this reason that, as citizens, we need to stand together and prevent cuts that range across the boards.

The city budget is comprised of three separate categories – enterprise funds; federal funds and other restricted money; and the General Fund. The General Fund finances most basic services including police, fire, libraries, parks, streets, senior centers and many others. Since 2002-03, the city has made program and service cuts of more than $360 million from our General Fund budget. The total General Fund deficit for the remainder of the current fiscal year and through June 2011 is $241.4 million. After identifying a combination of one-time financial transactions and other efficiencies, the deficit amount has been reduced to $139.2 million, which includes 1,310 positions.

 The proposed General Fund Reductions proposed by the City Manager includes a 15.1% reduction to Parks and Recreation. Here is a brief listing of what these reductions consist of:

  • Eliminate equestrian patrol program used on trails at South Mountain Park, the Phoenix Mountain Preserve, the Sonoran Preserve, Papago Park and flatland parks.
  • Close Shemert Art Center and Museum.
  • Eliminate Daring Adventures, River of Dreams and support for Special Olympics.
  • Reduce maintenance and supervision at Papago Park, Rio Salado Restoration Area Project and South Mountain Park.
  • Eliminate seven park rangers which results in closing mountain parks and preserves and gated trailheads at 7pm daily. Facilities with gated access will not be open for summer holidays.
  • Close Phoenix Center for the Arts.
  • Close Tovrea Castle Park, plants will receive minimal care and the building and grounds will deteriorate.
  • Close Camp Colley.
  • Eliminate Phoenix Afterschool Centers (PAC) summer program and funding for the Boys and Girls Club program.
  • Eliminate the PAC school-year programs, closing 36 general funded sites and impacting 2,300 children.
  • Close eight neighborhood recreation centers that are normally open during the summer, cutting services to 24,000 attendees. Barrios Unidos, Central, Grant, Holiday Smith, South Phoenix Youth Center and Thunderbird Teen Center.
  • Close seven year round neighborhood recreation centers: Sunnyslope Youth Center, Verde, University, Playa Margarita, Marc Atkinson, Hayden and Harmon rec centers
  • Close Desert West, Rose Mofford and Papago softball complexes that serve 330,ooo participants.
  • Reduce park rangers assigned to mountain parks and preserves, reducing mountain parks hours to 5am to 7pm Wednesday through Sunday.
  • Close 5 of the 13 large community centers: Deer Valley, Desert West, Devonshire, Mountain View and the Washington Activity Center.

In addition to the Parks and Rec proposed cuts, the City Manager also proposes to close seven library branches: Century, Acacia, Ocotillo, Desert Sage, Saguaro and Yucca. Also, hours will be reduced at all remaining libraries by closing on Fridays. Public Safety is also threatened with the City manager proposing to cut 409 police positions and 175 firemen.

So in summary, the City would like to take away many services that constitute a quality of life by closing city parks, libraries, senior centers, recreation centers, after school programs. They want to eliminate staff positions that would otherwise be caring for Phoenix’ natural resources, such as the parks. 

To bring in more city revenue, on Feb 2nd, the City Council adopted a 2% tax on food. This tax, which the Council approved to sunset in five years, will bring $62.5 million in revenue. The City Council passed the food tax prior to the community budget hearings to give residents the opportunity to provide input.

Representing PMPC, I attended the formative meeting of Citizens for Phoenix. This group was formed in response to this crisis in leadership from our city officials, uniting neighbors and citizen organizations with one another. Instead of each of our individual groups clamoring to “Cut their funding, not ours!” we can unify and so force the city to preserve the essential services our citizens require for a reasonable quality of life.

The Citizens for Phoenix proposes a 5 part plan as follows:

1) We accept $49 million of the city manager’s cuts, but have rejected $90 million of the cuts, specifically those that will affect the citizens both in recreational resources and in public safety.

2) We will not oppose the Mayor’s 2% food tax but we want a two year sunset provision, not the five year sunset that was passed.

3) We require that 100% of the expected $62 million in food tax revenue go into the city’s General Fund and be distributed to Parks & Rec, Human Services, the Office of Art and Culture and Public Safety, in direct proportion to their share of the original 2009-2010 budget.

4) We are willing to accept the limited version of the food tax, and in response, we expect our city manager to make up the remaining $27 million needed to balance the budget by raising revenue in the following combination of ways: increase of fees for permits and services wherever possible; union and non-union employee concessions; and eliminating the remaining fat in the budget that did not appear in the City Manager’s plan. Just one example would be giving the Mayor a chauffeur rather than a police squad security detail.

5) Finally, and most importantly, we will require an independent audit of the budget, systems and processes of all city departments by a national audit firm that must report back to the council and citizens within the first 12 months, so its recommendations can be implemented as expeditiously as possible, but no later than the second 12-month period so this two year tax will not have been in vain.

The Citizens for Phoenix officially rejects $90 million of the City Manager’s proposed cuts. By refusing these cuts, we will preserve and keep open parks, senior centers, rec centers, sports programs, libraries, PAC programs, and public safety.

Here’s what we need to do. Go to CitizensforPhoenix.org. Sign the petition. Email our city leaders such as your Councilman. Attend the budget hearings and either speak or submit comment cards letting the city officials know that you are opposed to the City Manager’s proposed cuts, communicating about what is most important to you. Ensure to say that you are part of Citizens for Phoenix and support their plan to preserve quality of life for the citizens of Phoenix. Print the petition and get signatures from those you know in your neighborhood and those who would be affected by the City Manager’s proposed cuts. Get signatures from members of organizations you may be part of other than PMPC.

The more of us that are united behind this plan, the greater chance we have to make the City responsible for their financial shortcomings and to prevent them from closing the public services provided by Parks and Recreation that mean so much to our quality of life.

 If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email me at betsy@clearviews.org