Park District Could Face Layoffs in 2012

The Cordova Recreation and Park District is about three years overdue on making some tough decisions, Interim District Administrator Doug Critchfield said this week.

Those decisions, which he called "the hardest thing anybody has to do," have to do with laying off employees.

He said the district has been losing revenue since the 2005-06 fiscal year.

"Our fund balance has been on a downward trend and we're making several cuts to try to get that back to a positive trend," Critchfield said.

He said the district will make some cuts to maintenance equipment and supplies, which won't be noticeable to the public. He also said the district has saved money by not hiring a permanent district administrator–.

But despite other efforts for internal cost-savings, Critchfield said the Cordova Recreation and Park District may just have too many employees.

"When the housing (market) was going well and the economy was going well, we were sized for that kind of an environment," he said. "We're having to right-size the organization."

He said the district may be able to get by on reducing the hours of some of its employees, but will likely have to lay some off. He wasn't sure how many would be let go, but said the district would provide help to laid off employees in any way it could.

Critchfield said a final decision would likely be announced in early January.