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South Gate parks director warns of pending budget cuts; pool and golf schedules reduced, fee‑waivers placed on hold
Summary
The parks director said the city has not adopted a budget; council will consider it July 22. Pending cuts have already reduced pool and golf operating days and prompted a temporary hold on fee waivers; commissioners were briefed and asked to await council action.
Parks staff warned commissioners that the city faces a structural budget deficit and that several operational changes are already in effect while the Council finalizes the budget.
Parks and Recreation Director Steve Cassey told commissioners the city’s fiscal year budget has not been approved; Council is scheduled to consider a final budget on July 22. He said the department proposed a “no change” budget between fiscal years, but the city manager and council have suggested cuts. As a result, the department implemented a reduced operating schedule in advance of the final budget decisions: the municipal pool will be closed on Fridays and the golf course will be closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Cassey said temporary holds are in place on fee‑waiver approvals while the Council evaluates budget changes.
The director said fee waivers represent a meaningful budgetary item; he referenced a prior fee‑waiver report that included roughly $600,000 in waived fees across various users. Staff cautioned that grant and fee‑waiver decisions taken without budget authority may later be reversed if the council does not adopt the proposed funding. Commissioners asked about volunteer options and maintenance impact; staff said volunteers are used for limited tasks but volunteers cannot substitute for certain paid positions (cash handling, fingerprinting, union rules) and that maintenance will be impacted if deeper cuts are required.
The commission received the director’s update and asked staff to provide relevant fee‑waiver policy documents to commissioners so they could review the existing criteria and the city’s current requests.
