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Texas State Parks Facing Fiscal Crisis, Needs $19 Million or May Close 20 Parks

Dave Montgomery & Steve Campbell,
Fort Worth Star Telegram

AUSTIN — Battered by budget cuts, heat and wildfires as well as a mounting backlog of maintenance issues, the once-again beleaguered Texas state park system may have to close 20 sites if additional funding isn’t secured, officials say.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is asking the Legislature for an $18.9 million boost in funding to maintain its system of 95 parks. Without the additional money, the agency “anticipates closing up to 20 state parks,” according to its appropriations request with the Legislative Budget Board.

“It’s just an unfortunate situation that we just don’t have enough money to operate all those parks,” parks director Brent Leisure said. The agency could also be forced to cut a regional office and 126 positions, officials said.

The parks department and scores of other agencies are expected to get an initial glimpse of their budget outlook for the next two years when the Legislative Budget Board releases its spending recommendations Monday. The recommendations will be followed by draft budgets from the House and Senate that will begin lawmakers’ traditionally contentious budget debate, which could last five months.

Unlike the 2011 session, when lawmakers faced a steep revenue shortfall after the recession, the 83rd Legislature, which convened last week, is starting work with an unexpectedly large pot of money to fund state government for two years. State Comptroller Susan Combs projected that $101.4 billion in state general-purpose revenue will be available for 2014-15, $30 billion-plus more than the current two-year budget.

[…] Much of the state bureaucracy is calling for a boost in funding after lawmakers slashed $15 billion in services in 2011. Officials in smaller agencies may have trouble making their case as state leaders focus their attention on high-dollar issues such as water, transportation and education.

Park boosters — including outdoor enthusiasts, environmentalists, the tourism industry and scores of small towns dependent on dollars from nearby parks — are uniting behind the call for additional money to avert what they say is a looming crisis.

“It makes no sense to cut these types of services when our population is growing,” said Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth. “The idea of cutting back on park services is a horrible idea.”
(Read more of this story at the Star Telegram)

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