By Park Pride’s Executive Director, Michael Halicki, and Director of Communications & Policy, Rachel Maher
Einstein defined “insanity” as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. For far too long, this has been the story of the chronic, longstanding underfunding of Atlanta’s park system and those who sought a higher standard for its care and day-to-day upkeep. Since assuming our roles at Park Pride 10 years ago, we—together with nonprofit partners, park conservancies, and Friends of the Park groups—have annually insisted on greater funding for Atlanta’s Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR), specifically in the areas of park maintenance and operations. However, this work pre-dates our tenure by decades—the need for greater funding in our city’s park system is, by no means, a new problem, nor is it solely an Atlanta problem. Cities across the country struggle to meet acceptable standards of care for our parks while balancing competing demands for resources in a 21st century city.
All too often, we focus on what is shiny and new in the world of parks. We elevate the new through press releases and ribbon cuttings, but we fail to highlight the ongoing need to take care of what we already have. And each year, what was once “new” becomes a little more tarnished and broken. Compounded over time, this becomes the elephant in the room that gets slipped under the rug. Everybody wants better maintenance for parks, rec centers, and trails, and yet no one wants to pay for it.
But now, leaders at all levels have displayed the courage to do things differently, to challenge the status quo, and implement changes that will lead us toward a greener, more equitable, and better maintained park system. And to these leaders, we say thank you!
An Increased Budget for Park Crews
Throughout the Spring, Park Pride, members of the Greenspace Advisory Council, park conservancies, Friends of the Park groups, and other park advocates attended Community Development / Human Services meetings (a committee of Atlanta City Council) to elevate the need for better park maintenance and the budget to support it. One message was reiterated several times over: the Department of Parks & Recreation currently has too few people to appropriately maintain the 4,477 park acres for which it is responsible, and it lacks the budget needed to close the gap.
This message was heard. In the FY2024 proposed budget, $2.8M has been added to DPR’s budget, approximately $1.8M of which will begin to address department’s staffing needs.
Thanks to Mayor Dickens and his leadership team, especially Department of Parks & Recreation Commissioner, Justin Cutler, for your leadership and for recognizing the need to grow DPR’s budget through the General Fund. This increase, a six percent increase in the department’s budget, is a step in the right direction.
New Legislation for Dedicated Funding for Park Maintenance
In May, Atlanta City Council Member Dustin Hillis introduced historic legislation to secure dedicated funding for park, recreation center, and trail maintenance. If adopted by Council on June 20, the legislation will add approximately $16M annually to the Park Improvement Fund (for a new total of $32M). What’s more, as proposed, 50% of the total funds will be dedicated to capital park improvements, 40% to park maintenance, 5% to security and safety, and 5% to other park-related needs. That translates to approximately $12M of dedicated funding going to park maintenance each year!
Park Pride and our partners have long recognized that the General Fund alone cannot carry the burden of funding park maintenance to the level that all Atlantans deserve to enjoy. In fact, we believe there is no single action that will have more of a lasting effect on the dignity of our public spaces throughout our system than this legislation. Dedicated funding for maintenance will allow DPR to implement an “enhanced maintenance standard” and increase the level of stewardship in parks throughout the network like never before.
Our sincere thanks and appreciation to Dustin Hillis for your leadership in introducing this legislation. Thanks also to Council Members Matt Westmoreland, Jason Winston, Jason Dozier, Liliana Bakhtiari, Alex Wan, Byron Amos, Marci Collier Overstreet, Amir Farokhi, Michael Julian Bond, Keisha Sean Waites, and Antonio Lewis for your roles as co-sponsors of this historic legislation and your efforts to reset the public’s expectations with regards to maintenance.
We will continue to excitedly watch as both the budget and the Park Improvement Fund legislation make their way toward adoption later this month. Though it is certain that some things are changing, Park Pride will continue to show up at City Hall in our green t-shirts, taking our place as the “cheering section for parks,” and showing our appreciation for the leaders working to do things differently for a better (and greener) Atlanta for us all.
