Rec and Park plans twice-a-week closures for recreation centers; reorganizes staff

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Recreation and Park plans to close recreation centers twice a week starting in mid-August as a way to close the department’s $12.4 million budget deficit. Creative Commons photo by Flickr user Marcin Wichary.

Many city departments are facing budget deficits for the 2010-2011 fiscal year and the Recreation and Park Department is no different.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the department is planning to close recreation centers twice a week starting in mid-August. On Sundays, the recreation centers will only be open to those who pay to rent a room from a center. Mondays, the centers would be closed to everyone.

Phil Ginsburg, general manager of Recreation and Park Department, said the closures would be on days when turnout is low.

This is one of many cost-cutting measures by the department, which faces a $12.4 million deficit. The San Francisco Examiner reported that the department is changing its whole staffing structure in order to cut costs. Many recreation staffers were re-interviewed for their positions, but not all were rehired.

The department is looking for more ways to generate revenue, including a proposal to lease out clubhouses to outsiders who would then provide classes, from yoga to dance, for a fee.

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