City Manager Tony Piasecki on Thursday, Oct. 8, responded to concerns that one of his proposals to offset an anticipated $2 million revenue shortfall in 2010 includes elimination of the Parks and Recreation Division of the Des Moines Parks, Recreation and Senior Services Department.

"Cutting the Parks and Recreation Department is one of many options included on a list of potential ways to balance the 2010 budget," Piasecki said. "But I can only make suggestions. Ultimately the City Council will decide what programs and services to cut to balance the budget."

He stressed, "It's important to note that senior services is not on the list of possible cuts."

Piasecki noted that the general fund budget first proposed for 2009 was based on anticipated revenue of $18 million. In early 2009, given the economic downturn, staff reduced revenue estimates for 2009 by $1 million and the City Council reduced expenditures accordingly, including cutting a total of 10 positions from the Planning, Building, Finance, City Clerk, Legal, and Human Resources departments.

Now the 2010 budget will be based on total revenues of only $15.1 million-a reduction in revenue of almost $3 million in less than two years. Revenue from sales taxes, property taxes, B&O (business) taxes, utility taxes, and building fees are all projected to be less than 2009 and 2008 levels.

In order to balance the 2010 budget, he said the City will have to slash another $2 million from programs and services.

If the City Council accepts every proposal that the city manager has submitted to them-a list of proposals that includes cuts in the Police budget-the balance in the City's General and Street Funds combined will equal $1.3 million.

"Maintaining a reasonable fund balance is a financially prudent thing to do," Piasecki noted. "Given the uneven way revenues come in during the year, these funds allow us to pay our bills, particularly at the beginning of the year. Right now we're using emergency reserve funds to create our general fund balance, and that's not good financial management."

Deciding where to cut the 2010 budget "is definitely a process," Piasecki said. "My initial recommendations are just a starting point for discussion. Staff is looking for additional reductions to suggest to Council, including in the Police Department, since it comprises 50 percent of our budget.

"We welcome and encourage our citizens to attend council meetings and participate by giving their input to staff and the council. Making additional cuts in the Police budget can be difficult,' he added, "given the restrictions the levy lid lift places on us."

Piasecki said if the City Council adopts the proposal to cut parks and recreation programs, "all options will be explored to find ways to keep programs open, especially programs like before- and after-school programs."

He added, "This particular proposal includes keeping a recreation coordinator position and a park maintenance position, with the intent that they will work to keep and create programs that can pay for themselves. We will also look at public/private partnerships and concession agreements."

The problem is that recreation fees, generally, do not cover the full cost of providing the programs because they don't recoup the costs of maintaining fields and facilities - nor do they cover the cost of necessary overhead and administrative functions such as payroll, accounting, advertising, human resources, and related functions.

Piasecki was responding to e-mails that had been circulating around Des Moines, including the following one form real estate broker Leslie Newman:

Des Moines Citizens, Residents, Business Owners, Neighbors, Voters, Tax Payers, and City Council Members;

It is my understanding that this Thursday October 8, 2009 at 7:00 PM in council chambers the Des Moines City Council will be meeting to discuss budget cuts. It is my understanding that the proposed budget cut is the ELIMINATION OF THE CITY OF DES MOINES PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.

I am encouraging all of you to either please show up for this meeting on Thursday to let your voice be heard or, to email, call, or stop by city hall to express your concerns over this proposed cut.

What this budget cut means: Closing of City Parks, Recreation, and Senior Services, closing of the Des Moines Field House. Elimination of all Parks and Rec Employees. Elimination of all programs that our children and seniors participate in. Elimination of after school programs, Camp Khaos, Field Trips for Seniors, The Senior Services Program, Closing of Underwood Memorial Park, the Des Moines Activity Center. Closing of the ballfields. The City of Des Moines recently received a $100,000 grant for upgrading of our grandstand (the original King County Park No. 1) at the field house.

The city has in place plans for the renovation of that much used field and has spent a portion of those grant funds. If the city is to close the grandstands and ballpark at the field house, the city has to pay that grant back.

Do you really want this to happen? This would mean that all of our parks would be closed, shut down, fences put around them. (If you were not aware, this was proposed last year and in a last ditch effort, the parks and rec employees along with a few citizens begged and pleaded for this not to happen). There were major cuts made to parks, rec, and senior services and several parks and rec employees lost their jobs or had their hours cut

We cannot be apathetic. It is no secret that the communities surrounding our city including the cities of Federal Way, Normandy Park, Burien, Seatac, Tukwila, Kent, continue to grow and thrive and make needed and necessary changes to growth, development, and community centers in their downtown cores.

If you have had opportunity to visit any of these surrounding cities you will see continued growth in spite of economic downturns, you will see new businesses opening, parks being maintained, added, community centers being built. Have you seen the new YMCA in Seatac? Have you seen the growth and development in downtown Burien? Have you seen the activity in both Seatac and Tukwila along with the new proposed community center with new residential condominiums in Tukwila? Have you seen or been stopped behind the new construction on 1st Avenue in Normandy Park? Have you seen the new ShoWare Center in Kent?

The City of Des Moines Police Budget is 65% of the cities overall budget. The surrounding communities in the region have police budgets at 48% of their city budget. Do we really want to be a police state? Do you really want to have no services, fields, parks, rec programs available to our residents? Police services are important but if we have no places or activities for our citizens to participate in, can you imagine how crime will rise?

Cities that do not have active rec programs for their citizens and do not have places for people to go and places for young people to hang out have higher crime rates than those cities whose focus is community activities and centers.
Studies and statistics show that those neighborhoods with focus on parks, recreation, strong schools, strong senior programs are the communities that people look to when choosing a place to move.

If you have had a chance to travel or visit other thriving cities in our area - Kirkland, Redmond, Renton, Kent, Edmonds, Bellevue, Bainbridge Island, Mercer Island, West Seattle, Tukwila, Seatac, Burien, Normandy Park you will see a huge community and city council focus on schools, parks, recreation, economic development, and growth and change.

There will be no growth in our city if we do not speak up and vote for change in the upcoming city council elections. As a resident for the past 10 years in the City of Des Moines, I have seen little change in the downtown core. I have seen many businesses open their doors only to have to close them due to lack of foot traffic.

The city needs to make major changes and have a whole new focus, vision, and plan if Des Moines is going to survive. Many cities have faced budget cuts but those cities whose focus has remained on providing places and activities for people have been the cities that have thrived the most.

What will happen to your property values when the parks have fences put up around them? We have seen problems with our property values because of increased air traffic from the airport and the third runway. We have difficulty selling our homes because purchasers are more interested in the communities surrounding ours that seem to have more progressive minded leaders looking for ways to increase growth, economic development, and activities for the residents.