UP residents make case for rec funds

Kris Sherman

Nov. 3, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Some 250 University Place coaches, parents, kids, senior citizens and others flooded City Hall on Monday night, pleading that popular recreation programs be saved from painful budget cuts.

Dozens spoke to loud and sustained hoots and applause while kids in sports uniforms sat listening on the floor.

It was a tense election-eve meeting against the backdrop of city politics and charges and countercharges among council members over the wisdom of a raise they approved for themselves on a 4-3 vote two weeks ago.

The city's 2010 budget won't be adopted until next month, and no decisions on how and where to cut programs have been made, City Manager Bob Jean said.

But he told The News Tribune on Monday that he's looking at many options and must consider shaving city services to the core.

He expects the city will have a $16 million operating fund next year, and he has to make about $4 million in cuts to get there.

A steady troop of speakers told the council that University Place built its reputation and its cityhood as a place to work, live and play and that the community wouldn't be the same without a vibrant city-sponsored recreation program.

It "provides a lot of opportunities for families to get together and become one," said Mike Gallagher, a youth coach. It's also a bond that keeps the community healthy, he added.

The speakers continued for more than 90 minutes, and the crowd that flowed out the front and side doors forced fire officials to count heads and make pleas to keep aisles clear.

The crowd turned out after word filtered through the community that the popular recreation programs, which draw 18,000 participants a year, might be axed. They include everything from youth basketball and soccer to senior citizen activities.

Jean listened carefully.

"The comments that I heard, the passions of the kids, all of that had an effect," Jean told the crowd as he laid out the budget challenges.

He heard, he said, that "regardless of the choices that we make or how tight it is, we need to stay focused on the youth and senior programs."

At 9 p.m., two hours after the meeting began, he made his grim revenue report to the council.

"We're looking at cuts in all departments, police, fire, streets, parks, rec," he said. But if anyone says decisions already have been made, they're wrong, Jean said. He's still gathering data and formulating recommendations for the 2010 budget.

Jean expects there may be middle ground to keep some recreation programs, which the city is subsidizing by around $500,000 this year, he said.

Mayor Linda Bird said earlier in the day that she would propose the council rescind a pay raise approved two weeks ago and offer a resolution to cut the council's pay and benefits. That move, she believed, would save more than $100,000 next year that could be used for other purposes, such as parks and recreation.

Council members Lorna Smith, Ken Grassi and Stan Flemming charged Bird was playing politics and using scare tactics before any decisions have been made.

Four of seven council seats are up for election today. Bird faces challenger Javier Figueroa; Smith is challenged by Eric Choiniere; Grassi faces Carl J. Mollnow; and Rose Ehart and Denise McCluskey are vying for the open seat being vacated by Flemming.

Bird, who created a Web site and exhorted people to come to the meeting and defend the city's recreation programs, said she was doing what she believed was right.

As the meeting went into the late evening Monday, the decision on council salaries remained to be made before The News Tribune's print deadline.

On Oct. 19, the council voted 4-3 to raise council members' salaries effective Jan. 1 from $1,367 to $1,500 a month; the mayor pro tem's salary from $1,476 to $1,600 a month; and the mayor's pay from $1,639 to $1,750 a month.

Council members Jean Brooks, Flemming, Grassi and Smith voted for the raises; Bird, Debbie Klosowski and Gerald Gehring opposed them. Immediately prior to that vote two weeks ago, the council turned down Bird's proposal to cut council salaries by 10 percent and decrease benefits.

Smith and Grassi told The News Tribune Monday the raises were reasonable and that council members' base salary hasn't gone up for a few years, though they do get a 3 percent annual cost-of-living increase.

Jean, the city manager, says the real issue isn't council raises or the parks and recreation program. It's a long series of revenue losses resulting from "the worldwide economic crisis," voter-approved tax-cutting measures and the challenges of developing the Town Center project.

He's preparing a preliminary budget for presentation to the council Nov. 30 prior to a public hearing set for Dec. 7. The council gets the final vote on the budget.

While he stressed no decisions had been made, Jean said it wasn't likely the city could continue to subsidize the parks and recreation department by more than $500,000 a year. With that in mind, he sent a memo to his parks and recreation director Thursday that put programs in limbo.

"Effective immediately, I do NOT want us to start or enter into any program or contract obligation for 2010 Recreation Programs," Jean wrote.

The news ping-ponged around the community over the last several days.

Kris Sherman: 253-597-8659

kris.sherman@thenewstribune.com

Newstex ID: KRTB-0198-39397594