How will government downsizing reshape public recreation & park services, libraries, and other similar things?

Question

How will government downsizing reshape public recreation and park services, libraries, museums, & therapeutic recreation?

Answer 1

Downsizing will make parks, libraries and museums unattended because of lack of manpower.

Answer 2

I can tell you about the Park industry. Until recently, I worked for a publisher of a national Park and Rec magazine. I saw a lot of things. State and National Parks are going through some serious hunger pangs right now, they have been. From the outside looking in, people see parks closing and maintenence at horrendously low levels. They see some parks beginning an entrance fee (very unpopular) and they see creative programs like Maryland's contoversial but successful "Trash and Carry" sanitary solution to solid waste. From the inside looking out, parks are having to do more and more with less and less. The park mangers have been trained to spend every dime of their "allotment" or they would get less next year. No mention of performance or actual attendance. No questions of utilization or programming. Just Spend iT! Current administrations are cutting and hacking like a drunken Chinaman who woke up in a strange bamboo forrest. Park managers have been hung out to dry. They have no guidance. They have no commands or suggestions from above. They only know that unless the sky starts raining funds, that their facility will either fall apart or be shut down. A sad state of affairs. There are some that will not go gracefully. There are successful counters to this trend. In particular look at TEBS (Texas Entrenpreneurial Budgeting System.) Also, there are some states that are countering radically with a dramatic change to their purchasing systems. Some states (like New Jersey, CA and maybe AZ... there were (5) in all) are cutting procurement costs by implementing a non-specific vendor, value based method of procurrement. It is trend setting, and it is the future of government purchasing, whether the government realizes it or not. They have saved unfathomable amounts of money, just by shopping around. To sum it up, the government is cutting the parks and rec industry off... and I hate to say this, but the answer for the parks is to hire a good marketing consultant... like Roy H. Williams... or someone that will teach them how to make their own money.

Answer 3

What government downsizing? Government grows and grows and grows. Usually, 'downsizing of government funding' is really a lower than proposed INCREASE in spending.

For example, if a spending bill proposes increasing federal education expenditures 20% annually and one political party wants to reduce that excessive increase to a more reasonable and affordable 10%, the other political party will scream about spending "cuts"! In reality it is a 10% spending increase (and only a 'cut' from the excessive 20% proposed increase). This is how the 'game' is played.