(We’ll continue to update this story through the afternoon as reaction comes in – scroll down)
ORIGINAL 10:46 AM REPORT: The City Council’s special Budget Committee meeting has just begun; this will be the first official word of what cuts will be made to make up for extra red ink in the current budget year; We’ll post as it happens. It’s being pointed out that these cuts do NOT require council approval. Note: The presentation is online, according to our friends at My Green Lake – see it here. We’re reading it now.
ONGOING COVERAGE: Budget boss Beth Goldberg‘s first announcement: In light of the Fremont fire that killed five over the weekend, NO reductions in the Fire Department.
From the budget document – wading pool effects: Lincoln Park remains open 7 days a week. (Goldberg is telling the council that the decision was based on keeping the most-used wading pools fully open. Other decisions, she says, were made based on “geographic equity.”)
Wading pools open 3 Days per week (in our area – there are other 3-day schedules around the city):
Delridge, EC Hughes, Hiawatha, South Park (Goldberg says the scheduling decisions were made based on the busiest day of the week and the days on each side of that day; as of this writing, the Parks website is not updated)
Highland Park wading pool remains closed (it’s set for conversion to a spray park; Goldberg is noting during the briefing that spray features are cheaper to operate than regular wading pools; she says the city’s total wading-pool budget is just under half a million dollars a year)
ALSO FROM PARKS: No community center/swimming pool closures this year, no lifeguard cuts. The description of cuts does not mention any program cuts, but does note a 5% reduction in maintenance (no elaboration yet)
LIBRARIES: Current hours will be maintained at all locations (but there are cuts, like $500,000 cut from the collection fund)
(added 11 am) POLICE: From the document linked above:
Leaves 21 new sworn officer positions related to the neighborhood policing program vacant, saving $2.1 million
(added 11:19 am) Goldberg says there are more SDOT cuts to come – “as we go deeper, the decisions get uglier.” The document linked above goes into detail about that department’s challenges.
11:56 AM: The meeting’s over. The mayor has a media availability at 12:15 to comment on the cuts.
12:19 PM: News releases are starting to come out with reaction to the cuts. We’ll publish the ones we get – starting with, after the jump, Councilmember Jean Godden, who says she’s concerned about the 21 police jobs that won’t be hired:
“I want to thank the Mayor and his staff for their thoughtful approach toward mid-year spending reductions. The Mayor has taken the appropriate steps to minimize the impact these decisions have on residents’ daily lives.
“I am concerned that the Mayor has slowed the hiring of police officers this year. We remain committed to working with him to implement the Neighborhood Policing Plan as soon as possible.
“I look forward to working with the Mayor this fall to provide necessary public services while making the tough choices required to pass a balanced budget. We must brace ourselves for the deep impacts of cuts likely in the 2011-2012 budget process.
“The council has received considerable and heartfelt input from residents. These comments and peoples’ commitment to a compassionate city inform our ongoing budget and economic development work.”
More to come.
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