How the City Crisis Hits Home

It's been a little while since I posted an article from Stephanie Vendig of the Greater Griffith Park Senior Center, but her take on Los Angeles' budget crisis is certainly worth a read. You can read Stephanie's column every month in the Los Feliz Ledger at www.losfelizledger.com

The news is bleak for our city, including our school district, as never before. And when you add in the State, it is pretty catastrophic. For these local public entities these days, it is not about tightening the belt or getting rid of the fluff. We are talking about core services that impact all of us, in one way or the other. In order to avert bankruptcy or other costly consequences, there is a scrambling to find all kinds of ways to reduce the financial burden.

The recommendations of Miguel Santana, City Administrative Officer, in his “Three-Year Plan for Fiscal Sustainability” report to the Mayor and the City Council on January 29th spelled out the alarm in 273 pages. LA’s economic woes are mainly due to the economic recession beginning in 2008 as a consequence of our local real estate downturn, which has been severe, and the unemployment rate higher than in all previous recessions. The revenue that mainly comes from, sales, business, hotel, communication users, and gas user’s taxes, hasn’t been enough to cover the costs. Currently, the City Council and the Mayor are struggling to come to agreement on the recommendations.

Because of my involvement with Los Angeles Dept. of Recreation and Parks at the Griffith Park Adult Community Center (GPACC) I am paying attention to this crisis a little more than usual. The department is asked to reimburse the general fund for their utility costs, which has not been done in the past, and for their pension costs. As a result of these and other recommendations, the department may end up with a different sense of itself in order to live within the budget. However, these recommendations raise the specter of potentially hurting the recreational function of the department.

Already, layoffs have started with Recreation Coordinators, Child Care programs, and Therapeutic Centers. The early retirement of some Facility Directors may mean no replacement, and a group of current Facility Directors has been warned of possible layoffs by July. There are more than 390 sites, including 28 senior centers that provide recreational opportunities in Los Angeles. The idea that quality recreation programs can operate with limited staff is not very reassuring. Not only that, if there is not enough experienced and trained staff within these programs, the recreation part of “Recreation and Parks” will suffer.

I would say it is letter-writing time. We should remind councilmembers that cost-saving decisions must not result in the substantial reduction or the potential elimination of the recreation function of the department. Los Angeles deserves better.