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Denver Parks and Recreation unveils 2026 budget with cuts but preserves rec center hours and flower beds
Summary
Director Joel Clark told the city council that Denver Parks and Recreation’s proposed 2026 budget includes reductions to on-call hours, some contracts and program lines while protecting core services such as recreation center hours and planned capital projects like flower beds.
Director Joel Clark, executive director of Denver Parks and Recreation, told a city council committee on Oct. 29 that the department’s proposed 2026 budget would include staffing and contract reductions but would preserve core services that affect residents directly.
Clark said the department faced “a difficult” budget cycle and described a process of soliciting ideas across the agency to protect high‑priority services. “We have preserved recreation center hours. There are will be no change to our recreation center hours. We will be planting the beds,” Clark said during the presentation.
Why it matters: Parks and Recreation manages about 300 urban parks, 14,000 acres of mountain parks and 72 distinct work locations, and its budget decisions affect everyday services — from youth sports and rec center programming to tree care and trail maintenance.
The department described three budget priorities: protecting core…
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