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Facing a multibillion-dollar shortfall, the state will shut 13 parks by June, including the Tombstone Courthouse and Yuma Territorial Prison. Several had already been closed.
The Arizona State Parks budget has gone from $26 million in the 2009 fiscal year to $7.5 million as the legislature has struggled to close its budget gap.
That's too bad. I didn't realize it would cost that much to maintain them. It would be a nice idea now if they had them shut for a while, invested a little into making them better, promote the crap out of them, and re-open them. It might cost a little but in time I think it'd pay for itself and by a good source of income in the future.
Come on! Why do people always fall for this gambit?
Every time a state runs short of money, they always threaten to close the parks or lay off cops and firefighters, as if there's not other place money could be saved. Instead of cutting through the already bloated budgets and eliminating non-essentials, they threaten to cut off the important things people depend on.
It's nothing more than fear mongering, designed to get you to pay higher taxes without demanding that spending be reduced.
Come on! Why do people always fall for this gambit?
Every time a state runs short of money, they always threaten to close the parks or lay off cops and firefighters, as if there's not other place money could be saved. Instead of cutting through the already bloated budgets and eliminating non-essentials, they threaten to cut off the important things people depend on.
It's nothing more than fear mongering, designed to get you to pay higher taxes without demanding that spending be reduced.
Get in touch with the state. Its got a lot of hard line no tax republicans. They probably want to sell them off to private firms that will charge triple for their useage.
They also have been laying off cops and firefighters. Their taxes were never high enough in the first place to deal with all of the retirees and the support jobs that would follow them.
Former MD Gov. Parris Glenndening (D) threatened the same thing several years ago, as has current Gov. O'Malley (D) in each of his three budgets. What ended up happening under Glenndening was that the Park Ranger staff was cut, fees were imposed on some activities and no trash is picked up at the parks now. O'Malley disbanded the Rangers and made them Natural Resource Police officers with a cutting of staff.
Facing a multibillion-dollar shortfall, the state will shut 13 parks by June, including the Tombstone Courthouse and Yuma Territorial Prison. Several had already been closed.
The Arizona State Parks budget has gone from $26 million in the 2009 fiscal year to $7.5 million as the legislature has struggled to close its budget gap.
New Mexico State Parks is cutting corners too.
I'm not at all sure your thread belongs here, maybe you shoulda put it in the Arizona State forum, just sayin'.
People who snowbird in New Mexico parks are being told to move on, and are forced to go to RV parks, which range in price from $105.00 to $230.00 per month, plus electric, which is considerably more than the State Park fees.
Governator of California has been slashing their services too, and their parks are not the only state run entities under the hatchet either.
Maybe states should consider making their parks privately operated by independent contractors, which would alleviate the need to man them by state employees? just sayin'.
BTW, I'm a democrat, and I don't believe any of these cuts in any state budget nationwide has anything to do with politics, they just don't have the $$$$ anymore. So, it's not just individuals and families hurting from this recession, everyone is. The US Government doesn't seem to be hurting though, they'll just borrow more from China, and print more bills.
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