Roper, 7 other Arizona parks to remain open for now

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[Source: Diane Saunders, Wick Communications] — Roper Lake State Park south of Safford dodged an economic bullet Feb. 4 when the Arizona State Parks Board decided not to close eight state parks in an effort to help the state budget crisis.  Instead, the State Parks Board will examine other ways to overcome a budget deficit at its Feb. 20 meeting, according to the department’s Web site.  Roper Lake and seven other Arizona state parks were targeted for closure after the Arizona Legislature decided to divert money from the agency to help balance the state’s budget.

According to the Arizona State Parks Department, Roper is one of the costliest parks in Arizona to operate. Nearly 86,000 people visit Roper each year, however, the cost to the state is $2.51 per visitor.  In comparison, Arizona’s costliest park to operate is McFarland State Historical Park in Pinal County.  That park draws 4,945 visitors a year and it costs the state $37.94 per visitor to operate, according to the Arizona State Parks Department.  Only two of Arizona’s state parks make money – Catalina in Pima County and Kartchner Caverns in Cochise County.  Catalina has 168,874 visitors a year and makes a profit of 90 cents per visitor.  Kartchner draws 160,013 visitors a year and makes $2.51 per visitor.

Ellen Bilbery, spokeswoman for the State Parks Department, said Arizona’s state park system was set up 52 years ago as a way to draw visitors to cities and towns in Arizona while protecting the state’s natural features and wildlife.  Making money for the state was not the main reason the parks were opened.

The history of the park system, however, does not help the current financial crisis in Arizona.  To balance the state’s budget, Arizona government is “sweeping” money from a variety of funds, including county and municipal budgets, to eliminate state budget deficits this year and next fiscal year, which begins July 1, local and state officials say.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

Viewpoint: Arizona legislature cut too deeply, must find solutions

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State budget cuts may force closure of Riordan Mansion in Flagstaff, among Arizona's treasure trove of parks.

[Source: Arizona Republic] — The emergency surgery on the 2009 budget went too far.  The Legislature’s plan, signed by Gov. Jan Brewer on Saturday, cuts so deeply into muscle that it weakens Arizona’s future.

We can probably heal some of the damage.  If the state receives more federal stimulus money than legislators anticipated, the dollars should restore reductions with long-term consequences.  But the radical operation of 2009 is just a sample of what could happen next fiscal year.

The revenue shortfall for 2010 is expected to be a staggering $3 billion, nearly a third of the general-fund budget.  Arizona must consider every possible way to treat this huge but temporary problem and then choose the best mix to minimize lasting side effects.  A few examples of the 2009 cuts show how Arizona has reached the outer limit and beyond on budget reductions.

  • Universities took a huge and disproportionate share of the hit, undercutting their ability to create the highly educated workforce that many companies seek.
  • The 21st Century Fund was wiped out.  The last-minute maneuver, not supported by Republican leaders, eliminated $22.5 million that boosts technology and bioscience development in Arizona.
  • The Department of Economic Security says families that qualify for subsidized child care will have to go on a waiting list until the end of the fiscal year.  It’s estimated to include 5,000 children by June 30. Low-income parents will be forced to choose between working and leaving kids in risky situations.
  • Graduate medical education loses $7 million in funding, sacrificing a federal match of $14 million.  It’s a double-barreled loss in a state that needs more doctors and is expanding its medical sector.
  • State parks, part of our tourism economy as well as a playground for Arizonans, will have to shutter eight facilities or take similar drastic steps.

Everything should be on the table for 2010.  Reorganizing for greater efficiencies.  Using toll roads.  Maximizing the use of technology.  And as a last resort — if the only other option is gutting essential functions and jeopardizing Arizona’s future — the list should include the T-word.  Re-examining tax breaks.  Deferring the rollout of tax cuts.  Revamping and broadening the tax system.

We can look at ideas kicked around in the 40-plus other states facing shortfalls.  With a June 30 deadline for crafting a budget, we have time for thoughtful analysis.  But we have no time to waste on rhetoric and grandstanding.

No Arizona state funds for rebuilding Parker pool

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[Source: John Gutekunst, Parker Pioneer] — The Arizona State Parks Department has informed the Town of Parker they will not be providing funds to rebuild the town’s pool.  In an e-mail sent Feb. 2 to Community Development Director Guy Gorman, the parks department said that, due to the state’s budget problems, they were suspending further expenditures on projects funded with grants from the department.  The e-mail stated the legislature had cut funding for the Heritage Grant program. 

Heritage Grant and State Lake Improvement Fund recipients were told to halt construction if state funds were critical to the completion of the project.  The town had planned to use a State Parks Heritage Grant to rebuild the pool.  The grant was awarded in 2006.  The plan was to have the pool ready and open by this summer.  The current pool has deteriorated to the point where it has been closed since 2003.  “This legislative action comes with great disappointment to the community,” Mayor Karen Bonds said in a prepared statement. “Many hours of effort by so many have already been put into this project.”  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

Viewpoint: Arizona legislative cuts may force state parks to close

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[Source: Bill Meek, President, Arizona State Parks Foundation] — It’s difficult to be heard above the roar of concern from the education community over the ravages of state cost-cutting measures that are designed to overcome a two-year, $3 billion budget deficit.  But some of the rest of us have to try.

I write on behalf of Arizona State Parks, a small agency that serves more than 2 million people and is threatened with extinction by the Arizona Legislature’s attempts to close its budget gap with any money it can find, regardless of the end result.

Arizona’s 30 state parks welcomed 2.3 million visitors in 2007.  They were hikers, boaters, swimmers, fishermen, campers, history students, photographers, bird watchers and just plain gawkers.  All were served at no cost to Arizona taxpayers because the parks take in more money than the Legislature spends on them.

In fact, during the past eight years, the Legislature has taken $60 million more from State Parks than it has appropriated from the General Fund to run the system.  That’s because every three or four years, when the state has a budget crisis, the Legislature sweeps funds that State Parks has set aside for capital improvements and for grants to city and county park systems.

State Parks has had no operating fund increases since 2002 and hasn’t had a meaningful capital budget since 2003.  As a result, State Parks has massive unmet capital needs and their facilities are falling into ruin.  Historical buildings, like Jerome’s Douglas Mansion, are collapsing due to disrepair.  Waste water systems throughout the parks are disintegrating and have been condemned by environmental regulators.  Beaches are eroding and docks are splintering at state rivers and lakes.

These are assets that belong to the citizens of Arizona, but the Legislature seems to think it is the landlord and is apparently willing to be a slumlord.

While State Parks has been strapped for money to maintain its facilities for many years, it has not had to fire employees.  The Legislature has always left just enough money in the till to avoid layoffs.  Until now.

Last Friday, the Legislative budget builders adopted a spending plan that cuts State Parks operating and capital funds by $26.3 million in 2009 and $23.2 million in 2010, leaving the agency about $8 million short of operating cash each year, according to Parks officials.  They say that means layoffs.  Even an expected infusion of $500 million of federal stimulus funds brings no relief to State Parks.

The Legislature also thumbed its nose at Arizona voters by grabbing nearly $5 million of Arizona Heritage Fund money.  More than a decade ago, state voters created the Heritage Fund by authorizing the Game & Fish and Parks departments to split $20 million of state lottery funds annually for wildlife habitat and other purposes.

In the Parks system, when employees are fired, parks must be closed.  Parks officials have already targeted five parks for closure and as many as a third of the state’s parks could be closed under the Legislature’s budget axe.  Some might never re-open.

The timing of these cuts couldn’t be worse, when we may be on the cusp of finding a solution to the parks system’s long-term needs.

Based on a request that originated from the Arizona State Parks Foundation, former Gov. Janet Napolitano appointed a citizens task force to study the future of the parks system and recommend long-range solutions to Parks financing.  With the support of Gov. Jan Brewer, the task force will soon begin work.

In addition, the State Parks Board has contracted with the Morrison Institute at Arizona State University and with Northern Arizona University for research to support the task force’s mission.  The studies will provide a social and economic framework for State Parks in the context of massive population growth over the next 20 years.

The state budget for 2010 is not cast in concrete, but based on the Legislature’s approach this year, 2010 could be much worse for State Parks.  Let’s hope there is something left for the parks task force to save.

[Note: To date, this opinion piece has been reprinted in the White Mountain Independent and Camp Verde Bugle.]