Lake Brownwood State Park Conditions Tied to Budget Cuts ?

Jan. 28, 2006, 11:59PM

Park enthusiasts take state to task for poor funding
Services and conditions erode at recreation areas

By JIM VERTUNO
Associated Press

AUSTIN - For as long as she can remember, Beth McDonald has been a frequent visitor of Texas' state parks. Whether for camping, picnics or afternoon fishing trips, it was easy to load the family into the truck for an outdoor adventure.
"We practically raised our kids at Bastrop State Park," she said.
That's why an ongoing budget battle at the state Capitol, depleted funding and deteriorating conditions at Texas parks have her so upset.
Budget constraints have forced the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to cut hours and staff at state parks and limit maintenance.
The changes have park enthusiasts hopping mad and calling on voters to make boosting funding an election issue.
"There is a firestorm igniting that will be in full force by election time," said McDonald, 79, a retired medical assistant and hospital administrator who now serves as the president of the nonprofit Texans for State Parks group.
Formed in 1997, Texans for State Parks has about 150 members and another 35 affiliated parks groups around the state.
"We are not going to sit down idly by and watch our once beautiful parks go down the drain," McDonald said.
Like other state agencies, park operations are snared in the same budget constraints that have lawmakers juggling how to pay for schools, nursing homes and medical insurance and care for children and the poor, among other priority items.
For several years, the parks operating budget hovered around $50 million. In 2005, it was $51.5 million before the Legislature cut it back to $49.5 million this year.
Stagnant funding combined with increased inflation and cost of business left parks officials trying to cover an $8 million gap, said Mary Fields, chief financial officer for Texas Parks and Wildlife.
To do it, operating hours and staff at more than 40 parks across the state have been cut. At some parks, officials eliminated overnight camping, closed swimming pools and limited use of recreational facilities and boat ramps.
The agency also laid off 39 workers in December and left other jobs vacant. Buying new equipment has been mostly eliminated.
Park enthusiasts wonder why finances are so tight.
The state collects a sales tax on sporting goods to help raise money for parks.
It was passed in the early 1990s and designed to replace the old reliance on cigarette taxes.
State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn's office estimated the sporting goods tax would generate $100.6 million in the current fiscal year.
But lawmakers capped how much parks could receive from that source at $32 million.
The rest goes into general revenue to help pay for other state services.
And parks don't even get the $32 million they're allowed. Only $20.5 million from that tax goes to state and local parks, or about 20 percent.
State Rep. Harvey Hilder- bran, R-Kerrville, an avid outdoorsman and chairman of the House Culture, Recreation and Tourism committee, tried but failed to raise the cap to $85 million last year.
He said he'll try again.
source: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3619036.html
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Are these conditions a result of one Party Republican Rule ? Why not get the major Corporations to redirect their Lobbying Dollars (Millions) and Political Donations from the Republicans to our State Parks !
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Form the TPWD website:

State Parks Funding - Frequently Asked Questions - December 2005

Why has the Texas State Parks system operating budget been reduced?
Like all other state agencies, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department operating budget was reduced by five percent for the 2006-2007 biennium and we've had to make some adjustments to make ends meet. Over the last five years our state parks operating budget has eroded to the point that we do not have adequate dollars to continue operating at previous levels. While our appropriation levels have remained relatively flat, our expenses have increased.
What has TPWD done to deal with the state parks budget situation?
We've managed the shortfall for the last five years by cutting costs in several ways. We've reduced the number of employees that we've funded in our budget, and we've held open about 100 positions per year to cut down on salary costs. That means there are fewer park rangers out in the field to take care of our customers. We've also reduced the funds available for minor repairs and have almost completely eliminated capital equipment acquisitions.
We've also continued to look for every available avenue to decrease operating expenses. For example, we're moving forward with the transfer of Bright Leaf State Natural Area to the Austin Communities Foundation. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission approved that transfer in August and the transfer is expected to be finalized by the end of the year.
We're also pursuing other opportunities to transfer sites to appropriate entities. Matagorda Island State Park will now be operated by TPWD's wildlife division. The site had been operated as a state park/wildlife management area in prior years. Now it will be solely managed as a wildlife management area but will remain available to the public for camping, wildlife viewing, fishing and public hunting.
The TPW Commission has also approved moving ahead with plans to transfer Lake Houston State Park to the City of Houston. A public hearing will be held on December 5th to gather input on the proposal before it goes back to the Commission during the January 25-26 meeting for final action.
What has been done to try to get more funding for state parks?
Texas Parks and Wildlife's priority request in the last three legislative sessions has been for state park funding. Unfortunately, the Texas Legislature had a lot of requests on the table and legislators were not able to grant every request. In our case, the request for additional state park funding was not approved.
TPWD leaders informed legislative leaders back in April that the reduced budget might mean some cutbacks for state parks. We were directed to make a special request for an additional $2 million dollar appropriation that would be considered during the budget execution process this past summer. The hurricanes hit in September and other pressing financial obligations for the state took precedence.
In the meantime, our Commission adopted the FY '06 budget for the agency at their August meeting. That budget reflects further belt tightening measures, including the elimination of more than 100 positions across the agency, including 12 positions in Austin that were occupied. Those changes took effect on September 1. Nine of those positions were in our infrastructure division, two in administrative resources and one in Communications. We have made every attempt to shield our field operations in state parks from the effects of budget cutbacks.
How is the budget situation affecting state park employees?
In order to balance the state parks budget for the 2006 fiscal year, 73 positions will be eliminated, effective January 31. Approximately 39 of those positions are occupied and all affected employees have been given a 60 days notice in order to give them as much time as possible to seek other positions. These positions are scattered throughout the state.
All of these employees will be given an opportunity to apply for other vacant TPWD positions that have been held open pending the outcome of the decisions affecting state park operations. Therefore, although we are notifying some 39 employees that their positions are being cut, it is likely that a good number of them may find work elsewhere in our agency.
How will budget-related changes affect state parks and the visiting public?
Our primary goal in making these difficult financial decisions is to keep all Texas State Parks open and available to the public. No state park will close. Operating hours are being reduced in some cases and other operational efficiencies are being made, but all Texas State Parks will remain open to the public.
Examples of the operational changes that took effect on December 1 include trimming operations at the Texas State Railroad. Effective immediately, roundtrips of the railroad will originate from Rusk only. In addition, many parks across the state will be restricting hours mid-week, when visitation is already extremely low. We've also made some fee adjustments, including implementation of a $1 fee at the San Jacinto Battleground.
How can people find out which state parks are affected and how the budget-related operating changes affect the public?
More detail on operational changes at Texas State Parks is available on our web site.
source: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/newsmedia/hot_topics/operational_changes/faq.phtml