Budgets...

Budgets. We all have them. We all try to live by them. Parks & Rec is no different, except that the money we are spending is, in some part, the tax money you pay to our local government.

There has been a lot of attention given to the City of Columbus’s budget these last few weeks. As you all know, those of you who are homeowners received a very pleasant surprise when you received your property tax bills this year – they were quite a bit lower than in year’s past. The flip side of that very pleasant windfall is, of course, that the state is collecting fewer tax dollars and, as such, is passing along fewer tax dollars to counties and cities. As a result, the City of Columbus has been asked to reduce their budget by several million dollars. The Parks & Rec share amounts to around $600,000.

So, is it such a bad thing to have to live within a budget? Certainly not. But, it is a bad thing when you plan one way and then find out suddenly that you’ll have less to use than you thought. In terms of operations, we plan several years in advance when deciding on repairs and improvements to new facilities and when planning to spend large sums of money on vehicles and equipment. When our budget is cut, as is the case this year, it effects not only the next budget year (2009), but the years that follow, since facilities that do not receive proper repair and maintenance continue to deteriorate and, in the long run, will be more costly to repair and maintain. The same is true for equipment. In addition to the $600,000 reduction to our budget, we have also been asked to cut our capital improvement budget (the money used for large construction projects and major improvements) from $1 million to zero. Add in the impacts and expenditures we are still feeling from clean-up and repairs from the June 7 flood and you can quickly see that these budget cuts could not have come at a worse time.

Parks & Rec staff has been diligently working to make cuts to operating budgets that will still allow our Department to serve you, our customers, in the best way possible. How Parks & Rec gets the word out about its programs is going to change too, but this may be a change for the better as we move toward more e-communications (emails and blogs like this one).

So, what can you do to help? Here are a few ideas.

1) Sign up for a class, rent space at one of our facilities for family gatherings, meetings or birthday parties (Hamilton Center Ice Arena, Columbus Gymnastics Center and Donner Aquatic Center are all GREAT places to have a birthday party), or play a round of golf at Greenbelt or Rocky Ford Par-3 Golf Course. All of these activities help us to generate revenue, which helps to offset the cuts to our operating budget. And, it keeps our employees busy…and we like to be busy! Check out the online Fun Guide at http://www.columbusparksandrec.com/ to learn more about the classes we offer.


2) Consider a donation to the Columbus Park Foundation. For those of you not aware, the Columbus Park Foundation is the 501(c)(3) arm of the Department and works to help fund projects that the Department does not have budgeted. The Foundation will be a major player in funding projects in the next few years, projects like People Trail repairs and improvements, facility repairs and more. In addition, the Foundation provides scholarship to children in our community whose families could not otherwise afford to allow them to participate in activities like gymnastics, soccer, hockey or swimming. Your donation could help a kid have a great summer! Call 376-2680 to learn more about how you can make a donation today.


3) Volunteer! We can always use volunteers to help our staff do their work. Do you like to be outdoors? If so, we can find a project for you! Do you have a special talent? Let us know about it and we’ll find a job for you that fits your special talent. Your volunteer time takes the pressure off our staff, which helps them to be better workers and better public servants. Call Cindy at 375-2759 to learn more about our volunteer opportunities.

The staff of Columbus Parks & Recreation Department remains committed to enriching the lives of persons in our community. We know the budget situation is a temporary one and one that can be overcome, but only with your help. Thanks for your support!