Budget Cuts Force the Rockford Park District to Make Big Cuts

$1 million dollars in budget cuts will force the Rockford Park District to cut back or eliminate some popular programs.

The Rockford park District Board of Directors are in the process of finalizing the 2018 budget and have identified $1 million that needs to be cut to balance the budget. The exact amount that needs to be trimmed is estimated to total $1,049,000.

Some of the proposed reductions include:

Elimination of four- full-time positions by attrition and restructuring
Reduction in event support/parking staff services for RPD events
Elimination of free police and event support for partner events
Reduction of one week of the free Music in the Park Summer Concert Series (8 weeks vs. 9 weeks)
Elimination of indoor swimming lessons
Closing Harkins Aquatic Center two weeks earlier

So why does the Rockford park District have to make these cuts, officials cite the fact that fee revenue has declined drastically over the last 10 years. In a press release, they cited facilities such as Magic Waters Waterpark and the District’s five golf courses used to be major revenue generators for the District, but due to changing demographics and recreation trends, this is no longer the case.

There could be more cuts in the future, as the a $532,000 deficit will remain even after these cuts are instituted.

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