Add It Up: Mother Nature gets cut first
May 19, 2008 at 5:00 am by Thomas Wheatley in Add it upEstimated City of Atlanta budget shortfall in 2009: $140 million
Percentage of Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs budget Mayor Franklin proposes cutting: 15
Positions cut from the parks department in 1993 and 1998 due to budget concerns: 137
Positions cut from the parks department in 2002 due to budget concerns: 127
Approximate number of parks department employees today: 315
City recreation centers that will close temporarily this summer: 11
Recreation centers that will close permanently this summer: 2
Percentage total land in Atlanta devoted to public parks: 4.5
Park-related spending in Seattle per resident in 2005: $266
Park-related spending in Atlanta per resident in 2005: $91
Sources: City of Atlanta, Park Pride, Trust for Public Land
May 19th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
If there were any, how many jobs were added from 1993 to 2002?
May 19th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
To my knowledge, there were no jobs added during that period; full-time staff was effectively cut in half. In 2006 & 2007, about 50 year-round workers classified as part-time were made full-time, meaning they got healthcare and other benefits.
The numbers are stark.
Executive Director
Park Pride
May 19th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Damn. That is stark.