Detroit Rec Centers On The Chopping Block?
DETROIT (WWJ) - One of the areas that could be hard hit in Detroit's deep budget cuts could be the city's recreation department.
The Detroit rec department has seen some drastic cuts in recent years and is now in line for a 38 percent reduction.
Department director Alicia Minter hopes to minimize the impact of cuts this year.
But, talking to Talking to WWJ Newsradio 950's Vickie Thomas, she admits that some more of the city's recreation centers will likely be closing as a result of Detroit's budget crisis.
"There may not be a huge amount. You know, in 2005, we had a closure of 15 recreations centers," Minter said. "We couldn't afford to do that at this date now. One, closing one,would be a tremendous impact."
Minter doesn't have any deatails yet, but changes could include a restructuring of the department.
There are currently 14 recreation centers still open in the city, including the Northwest Activities Center.
Detroit has an accumulated budget deficit of $265 million and is trying to fix its finances after agreeing to state oversight.
Detroit City Council was Monday handed a detailed copy of Mayor Dave Bing's proposed budget, which includes more than 2,500 job cuts. That's in addition to the 1,000 cuts that Mayor Bing had earlier sought.
City Council President Charles Pugh said every department will feel the pain. Detroit's City Clerk says a proposed 25 percent cut to her department would prevent her from running the November general election. (More on this here).
