Excellent story about budget cuts for State Parks!! Great detail on the economic impact to the surrounding communities: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/06/28/earlyshow/living/parenting/main20075036.shtml?tag=cbsnewsTwoColUpperPromoArea
State Parks
Starving our state parks hurts economy
[Source: Kathleen Ingley, Arizona Republic] – Lawmakers talk big about creating jobs and getting agencies to be entrepreneurial. So, why are they wrecking Arizona State Parks? The parks already get no money from the general fund. Now, legislators are sweeping up revenue that parks generate on their own. No business could survive these raids on its cash register. And how dumb is it for a tourist state to starve parks instead of promoting them?
Arizona State senate budget proposal would transfer millions away from state parks
[Source: ABC15.com, Mike Pelton] – State parks across Arizona could face a financial nightmare if a senate budget proposal passes, members of the state parks board said Wednesday. The Arizona Senate passed a budget proposal for next year and, in an attempt to balance the budget, proposed transferring money from state parks to the general fund.
“State parks is not only an enterprise agency but an economic engine,” said Tracey Westerhausen, chairman of the state parks board. Westerhausen said the senate’s budget proposal would transfer more than $3 million that state parks generate from the public, and transfer it to the general fund for other uses. “It’s hard for us to run like a business when the money we generate would be taken away,” she said. Westerhausen cited the importance of state parks for the economy. Parks often draw tourists out to rural areas around the state, bringing money with them.
“The Lost Dutchman state park is very important, not just to this business but the entire community,” said Mark LeReshe, who owns Superstition Harley Davidson in Apache Junction, just miles from the Lost Dutchman park.
ABC15 contacted members of the state senate, who refused to comment on the issue. State parks is only one area the senate budget proposal suggests gathering additional funds from. Other industries would be affected as well, such as the department of health services. Business owners, such as LeReshe, said they will continue to help keep the parks open as best they can. LeReshe has helped raise thousands of dollars for Lost Dutchman. “We’re going to fight,” he said. “We’re going to fight to keep that park open.”
The state parks have faced financial trouble in recent years. Currently, 28 of the state’s 30 state parks are open. The senate’s budget proposal still has to go through the House, where it could face changes, before it heads to Governor Brewer’s desk.
Senate budget plan would shutter state parks
[Source: Pete Aleshire, Payson Roundup]
Like a bystander gunned down in a gang shooting, the Arizona State Parks system will have to virtually shut down if the recently adopted state Senate budget takes effect, according to park officials.
The Senate budget would sweep nearly $3 million in funding from the state park’s budgets, on top of $72 million in cuts over the past three years. In addition, the Senate budget would impose spending and contracting restrictions that would prevent the parks from even contracting with other agencies to run the now-endangered collection of 28 sites.
“Because they’ve got burrs under the saddle, they’re using that as an excuse to rip off the saddle and shoot the horse,” said Payson Mayor Kenny Evans.
That budget proposal could force the closure of every park in the system, including Tonto Natural Bridge State Park, Rim Country’s best-known tourist attraction.
“It’ll kill the ability to keep any state parks open,” said Evans, who spent the week in Phoenix lobbying House members to convince them to reject the Senate budget in favor of Gov. Jan Brewer’s proposal.
“Not only would (the Senate version) sweep $3 million in funding, but it imposes spending restrictions. So the parks could raise $10 million in gate fees — but could only spend $7.5 million.”
Other provisions in the bill would strangle the backup plan for keeping Tonto Natural Bridge open by making it almost impossible to turn the park over to a private contractor.
Payson and other local supporters have formed an innovative partnership with the state parks system in the past two years to keep the world’s largest natural travertine arch open, mindful that at its peak Tonto Natural Bridge drew more than 90,000 visitors yearly who pumped an estimated $26 million annually into the region’s struggling, tourist-oriented economy.
The state parks system came up with money to repair the rotted roof and shore up the historic lodge so it could perhaps once again house paying guests. Payson has contributed money to keep the park open and the locally-formed Friends of Tonto Natural Bridge has raised money and provided volunteers to compensate for deep staffing cuts.
Earlier this year, the park system indicated it hopes to find a private contractor to help operate Tonto Natural Bridge, by either taking over the entire operation or running certain potentially money-making elements of the park, like a lodge, gift shop or campground. The partnership with Payson, Star Valley the Tonto Apache Tribe and the local support group have provided a model for efforts to save parks statewide.
Evans said the state Senate’s budget, supported by Rim Country representative Sen. Sylvia Allen (R-Snowflake), goes far beyond balancing the budget to seemingly settle political scores.
“There are multiple agendas here and some (lawmakers) are using the budget to accomplish what they’ve tried to do for years,” he said.
As an example, he cited the provisions in the budget bill that would cripple efforts to bring in private contractors or form partnerships to help operate the parks.
“The Senate bill makes it virtually impossible to do that as well,” Evans concluded.
Assistant State Parks Director Jay Ziemann put out a memo this week detailing the potential impact of the cuts proposed in the Senate budget.
He noted that the parks system has already absorbed some $72 million in cuts in three years, which has left half of the state parks jobs vacant and stripped away most maintenance funds.
The proposed additional cuts include a $2-million reduction in the $10-million enhancement fund, which comes mostly from fees visitors pay when they visit. The language of the bill would make it impossible for the system to raise more money by raising additional fees and negotiating partnerships. Since the state and Payson developed their partnership to keep Tonto Natural Bridge open, the state has developed similar agreements crucial to keeping 16 other parks operating. The Senate budget will likely kill all those partnerships, concluded Ziemann.