Politics & Government
Parks Commission Won't Discuss Pool Funding Before Budget Axe Falls
The Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Commission couldn't muster a quorum for its meeting Wednesday night and aren't planning convene again until October.
The Benicia Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Commission was forced to cancel its regular meeting on Wednesday due to the lack of a quorum. The only item on the agenda: Review City's Fiscal Challenges, Public Outreach Efforts and Related Budget Balancing Measures, is an informational item that outlined staff recommended cuts to the Parks and Community Services budget to help balance the city's budget.
There are no plans to schedule a special meeting of the Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Commission before September 21, 2010. That's the date the City Council will act on budget reduction measures that will affect services provided by all city departments.
"The commission won't have the opportunity to discuss it as a body," said Mario Giuliani, a management assistant in Benicia Parks and Community Services department, referring to the staff proposal.
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Giuliani continued, "No commissioners have called to voice concerns about the staff recommendations since they were released."
Benicia is facing an ongoing structural deficit of $1.2 million. The current plan is to reduce compensation for city employees by $600,000 and to reduce services to the community by an equal amount. City staff was helped in recommending which services to cut by a series of public workshops, a public survey and a staff brown bag lunch where city employees had lunch with City Manager Jim Erickson and suggested ways the city could save money.
Find out what's happening in Beniciawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Among the original suggestions by staff was closure of the James Lemos pool from September 30 to the beginning of April each year. The plan wipes out the fall competitive swim season for Arsenal Aquatic Club and the winter swim season at Benicia High School. Staff then recommended a 15% increase in all aquatic programs. The money raised by this fee increase would cover the cost of keeping the pool open two extra months and give the high school swim team a practice facility.
Other staff recommendations for cutting the Parks and Community Services budget include eliminating field maintenance at two school sites, eliminating special events, cutting staff for after school programs, increasing fees for recreation programs, and cutting back irrigation at parks and landscaped areas.
