Mayor Tom Leppert and City Council rep Jerry Allen responded to questions and comments about city budget cuts for the coming fiscal year, which begins in October. The meeting at the Lake Highlands Freshman Center was well attended. Comments from the public primarily protested cuts to recreation centers and libraries.
Jeanne Chipperfield, Chief Financial Officer of the City, summarized the changes. Branch libraries will maintain their forty hour per week schedule, but staff at the libraries will be reduced, so expect slower service. A schedule of shortened hours for Rec Centers shows that 43 centers will remain open (which contradicts earlier predictions of some centers closing) however the hours at all centers will be cut significantly.
The most passionate remarks from the audience were in support of the Willie B. Johnson Rec Center, located in the Hamilton Park area. The center’s hours will be cut to 10:00 a.m. -2:00 p.m., unless the city changes its plans. The complaints from staff and residents pointed out that the center’s youth programs are vital to the community, especially after school, and that many seniors in the area babysit grandchildren during the day, but utilize the center in the afternoon. One woman asked, “What is the criteria?” (to get the center’s hours increased?) Mayor Leppert responded that the city looked at how many users of the center checked in with their ID cards. In other words, if usage of the center is high, but participants don’t have updated cards (which cost $25), then their participation cannot be tracked.
Jerry Allen said, “Willie B. is a work in progress,” giving the protesters hope that the city will take another look at their plans for the center.
Several people expressed concern over the Lake Highlands Rec Center, which is scheduled to close for renovations. Gilbert Leal, who uses the Rec Center’s exercise facilities, pointed out that the renovations at this time don’t make sense, when other centers funds are being cut, and when the people of Lake Highlands rely more on the center now than they do during better economic times. Leal has generated a petition (containing several pages of signatures) demanding that the renovations be cancelled or postponed. “Bond money isn’t free,” he told the mayor. The audience auplauded.
Joan Walne, Vice Chair of the Park Board, spoke at the mic to address the concern. Bond funding for the renovations was approved by voters in a 2006 election, and the improvements will not be merely cosmetic, but will enhance security, utility and energy efficiency. She said the estimated time of closure is six months. Meanwhile, employees at the center have been laid off with no mention of rehire in the future.
Jeanne Larson, who teaches adult exercise classes, said that the change in hours and closing for renovations is disrupting a large community service for people who have attended her class for more than 20 years. During renovations the class will be moved to Churchill Rec Center, but many participants (a large number of them seniors) will not be able to make the longer drive. Larson pointed out that further disruptions will erode what has been built up over the years. She fears it will be hard to build up the same level of cohesion in the community when budget levels improve.
Additionally, the classes are now scheduled in the morning, but the hours for Churchill Rec Center are scheduled to change from 12:00 pm to 6:00 p.m. in October.
Library proponents pointed out that if Dallas truly aspires to live up to our “world class city” ambition, we won’t be able to compete with other cities if we allow our libraries to languish. Branch hours may hold at 40 hours per week, but cuts to the downtown central library will mean loss of access to computers on the upper floors. Many people who are seeking work and doing research will not have access to computers that they need, during a time when most job applications are handled on-line. As a matter of interest, Houston and Austin were cited as cities that are planning to spend more on their libraries in the coming year than Dallas.