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Parks & Recreation pares programs to focus on five priority areas, aims to boost cost recovery
Summary
Parks & Recreation will reduce program volume to focus on five core areas (seniors, childcare, inclusive play, racket sports, discovery programming), expecting revenue to rise about 12.8% over FY2025 actuals and aiming for department‑level cost recovery near 30% over five years.
Parks & Recreation staff told council they have trimmed the number of programs from 513 in 2025 to 425 in 2026 and plan further reductions in FY2027 while concentrating resources on five priorities: senior/social enrichment, safe affordable child care, adaptive/inclusive play, foundational racket sports and discovery programming.
The parks director said focusing on higher‑impact offerings and outsourcing premium commercial activities should improve cost recovery, projecting roughly a 12.8% revenue increase over FY2025 actuals despite fewer programs. "Our goal in FY27 is to get down into the low 300s when it comes to programs and then continue to keep on focusing on that over the next 2 years," the parks presenter said.
Council members pressed staff to ensure reductions will not harm senior services or undercut local small businesses that provide child‑care options; the director said senior programming remains a top priority and the city will continue partnership and sponsorship efforts to offset costs.
