\n Marcus Annex Senior Center, one of four community centers that could be facing closure | Image by Dallas Park and Recreation\/website <\/p>\n
The Dallas Park and Recreation Department is considering more than $13 million in budget reductions for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, a proposal that could lead to the closure of four community centers, shorter operating hours at recreation and aquatic facilities, and reduced maintenance at City parks.<\/p>\n
Dallas Park and Recreation Director John Jenkins presented<\/a> the proposed cuts during a park board meeting as the City works through a broader budget shortfall tied to state property tax caps and voter-approved public safety funding priorities.<\/p>\n Jenkins said changes in Texas law limiting<\/a> property tax revenue growth to 3.5% have strained the City\u2019s finances, while voter-backed propositions directing more funding toward public safety have reshaped the City budget.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what the voters decided and rightfully so. Fifty percent of your revenues is going towards public safety. That\u2019s reality, that\u2019s a structural change,\u201d Jenkins said, Fox 4 KDFW reported.<\/p>\n Under the proposal, the department would eliminate services at four community centers: the Marcus Annex<\/a>, Teen Tech Center<\/a>, Arcadia<\/a>, and Umphress<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not a partial reduction \u2014 this is 100-percent elimination of services at those locations,\u201d Dallas Park Board representative Rudy Karimi said<\/a> during a board meeting, NBC 5 DFW reported.<\/p>\n The proposal also includes<\/a> reducing recreation center hours from 40 per week, limiting aquatic centers to 4 operating days per week, and delaying openings at Bahama Beach from Tuesday through Thursday. Other planned reductions would decrease litter collection and mowing frequency at parks across the City.<\/p>\n Jenkins warned that noticeable declines in maintenance could trigger complaints similar to those the department received in the 1990s.<\/p>\n \u201cLet me tell you, all we received was complaints every single day about how bad the parks looked and more,\u201d Jenkins said, per Fox 4.<\/p>\n At Kidd Springs Recreation Center in Oak Cliff, residents expressed<\/a> concern about the possible cuts and closures.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a busy place,\u201d said Lyndon Mitchell, who regularly plays games at the center, per NBC 5. \u201cTerrible thing to hear that they might cut anything.\u201d<\/p>\n