The Denver City Council has begun holding hearings on Mayor Michael Hancock’s $1.49 billion budget proposal for 2022, meeting with Denver Parks and Recreation on Monday.

The proposed 2022 budget would delegate just under $83 million to Parks and Recreation, with approximately $49 million going to parks and planning, $29 million to recreation and $4.9 million to department administration.

This proposed budget is over $6 million more than Parks and Recreation’s 2021 budget, according to department data. It is also nearly $19 million more than the department’s actual spending in 2020 and nearly $7 million more than the actual spending in 2019.

“We are moving back towards 2019 budget levels, but there’s still some work to be done,” said Parks and Recreation Executive Director Happy Haynes.

This comes as the COVID-19 pandemic has caused Parks and Recreation’s revenue to plummet since 2019. Haynes said this is because much of the department’s revenue comes from recreation centers, most of which were forced to close during the pandemic.

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All 31 of Denver’s recreation centers reopened earlier this month, though many are still not operating at full hours due to staffing shortages. Haynes said she has 160 active recruitments going on for open positions throughout the department.

The department estimates Parks and Recreation will generate only $5.6 million in 2022. That’s more than double what the department earned in 2020 and 2021 ($2.4 million and $2.8 million respectively), but less than half of the $12.7 million revenue from 2019.

“We’re taking a very conservative approach for our revenue projections,” Haynes said. “While we’re reopened and people are coming back, it’s uncertain. There’s some uncertainty about customer loyalty, about their comfort under these COVID conditions.”

Just under $3.5 million of the $6 million budget increase would be spent on staffing, including restoring 18 on-call park positions, two project managers, one senior city planner, one utility worker, one recreation center coordinator, one recreation program coordinator, one staff assistant and one contract technician.

The department also plans to convert nine park ranger positions from on-call to full-time and convert 15 on-call recreation coordinator positions to full-time.

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About one-fourth of the budget increase — over $1.5 million — would be spent on hiring eight new park rangers and 11 park operations staff to monitor downtown parks, with a specific focus on Civic Center Park. Civic Center Park was indefinitely closed last week due to excessive trash, rodents and crime. 

Other spending plans include $359,500 for park maintenance and supplies, $175,000 for Safe Outdoor Spaces (also known as managed homeless camps) and $125,052 for hiring restroom attendants.

On Monday, council members expressed several concerns about the proposed budget plan. Multiple council members argued against the funding for Safe Outdoor Spaces, saying the funding shouldn’t be grouped with Parks and Recreation, since the camps are not within parks.

“I don’t feel that this is something that should be in the park’s budget,” said Councilman Jolon Clark. “It is hard for us as council, and it is hard for the public to understand the cost of some of these things the city is attempting to do when we (spend) money in different places.”

Haynes defended the funding, saying Parks and Recreation provides fencing, restrooms and hand-washing stations for the Safe Outdoor Spaces.

Several council members also raised issues with the plan to hire eight new park rangers who would largely be assigned to Civic Center Park alone.

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“That is not a good use of resources to have a third of park rangers focused in one specific location,” said Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer. “The No. 2 thing we get asked for the most in our office is enforcement of parks ordinances in parks that are not downtown.”

Other council members requested funding be designated for more dog parks and sports facilities.

For 2022, the Park Legacy Special Revenue Fund would also provide $41.7 million to Parks and Recreation for urban forestry, mountain parks, parks construction/design, park maintenance, land acquisition and capital improvement projects.

The capital improvement projects would take up $26 million of the legacy fund, with major projects including restoring the Civilian Conservation Corps Camp, increasing tree canopy, improving Ruby Hill Park, installing playgrounds at Central Park and Kentucky/Knox Park and adding tennis courts at Montbello Central Park and Congress Park.

After completing budget hearings with the city departments over the next two weeks, the City Council will propose amendments in early October. The council must vote to approve the final budget before it can be implemented.