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Parks and Recreation warns cuts would shrink seasonal programs and childcare capacity; department seeks $9.2M restoration and RFP transition plan
Summary
Parks and Recreation officials told the Budget & Finance Committee that the mayor’s proposed budget would cut 192 positions and sharply reduce seasonal and maintenance capacity, and the department asked the council to consider restoring $9.2 million to avoid layoffs and to provide plans for an RFP transition for city childcare centers.
The Department of Recreation and Parks told the Budget & Finance Committee that the mayor’s proposed budget would eliminate 192 positions — a reduction the department said would substantially affect aquatic programs, recreation centers, park maintenance, seasonal staff and the city’s early‑childhood care sites.
General Manager Jimmy Kim said the proposed cuts represent roughly $14 million in salary reductions and would reduce maintenance and operations at a time when the department is managing more capital openings and community demands. Kim said the department’s alternative budget proposal would restore $9.2 million in funding to avoid layoffs and preserve subsidized programming in high‑need neighborhoods.
Councilmembers pressed the department on the planned transition of city‑run childcare centers to outside operators through an RFP process. Department staff said existing centers will remain open in the near term and that the RFP is intended to identify external operators; however, the department said it needs interim funding to keep city staff at sites through the transition to preserve continuity for families and existing subsidy arrangements. Members asked for a memorandum showing projected family fees under the RFP model, impacts on families currently served, and a timeline for contracting and outreach so parents can plan for any change in operator.
The department also sought guidance on a long-range parks funding strategy. Directors described a completed needs-assessment process that will inform a future ballot measure (often referred to in the hearing as a new parks funding measure), and asked the committee to consider a special study on revenue opportunities for parks, including a possible voter measure that could appear no earlier than November 2026 under scheduling constraints discussed at the hearing.
No vote was taken; the committee instructed staff to return with a budget memorandum that lists the positions Parks and Recreation proposes to restore and an analysis of the fiscal and service impacts of the proposed cuts, plus a memorandum on the childcare RFP’s projected pricing and service continuity plan.
