Delta City Council in collaboration with the City Manager and Bill Heddles Recreation Center Figureheads shall adopt a resolution to reinstate and "lock-in" hours of operation at Bill Heddles Recreation Center such that community residents can, once again, enjoy reasonable access to the taxpayer funded resource (under the following guiding recommendations):

·       Sunday hours from 10 am to 6 pm shall be reinstated immediately such that families and children can actually enjoy the pool and have a place to congregate.

·       A “restitution promotion” (of some kind) could grant free Sunday admission through the summer to reacquaint the community with the facilty.

·       Friday and Saturday evening hours of operation shall be extended back to the historical 10 pm closing such that neighborhood youth can play basketball on a Friday and Saturday night instead of pursuing other mischievous alternatives.

·      The highest paid Recreation Center employees could help staff the facility during the reinstated hours of operation.  It is the highly disproportionate compensation (66% staff to cost ratio) that directly contributes to any perceived and avoidable budget constraints.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

·       Monthly, quarterly, and annual memberships shall be extended by one calendar day for each and every day the facility is closed for repair, closed for cleaning, or closed due to reduced hours.

Notes:

·       The recreation center exists to serve the community.  The recreation center does NOT exist to funnel city sales tax into unnecessary or overcompensated jobs.  Rec Center Personnel Expenses (payroll) have increased over $800,000 since 2016.  Personnel Expenses drawn from the Rec Center are now approx. 10 times more than the facility's electric, gas, & water bills combined.

·       The city sales tax collected and earmarked to fund the Bill Heddles Recreation Center is more than adequate to fund operations and retain hours of operation....  More hours of availability are possible once excessive payroll and redundant "coordinator" jobs are consolidated.

·       Rec Center employees are not entitled to nights, weekends, and holidays off!  Restated, the facility should not be closed to accommodate public employees' lifestyle preferences.

·       The City Manager, the city manager’s assistant, and the countless rec center department heads do not just work for the city… THEY ALL WORK FOR THE TAXPAYER – THEY WORK FOR YOU!  They can be replaced or forced to better serve their constituents.  

 ·       Imagine if the rec center was actually open from 6 am to 10 pm, 365 days a year.  Imagine if the facility was staffed with 7 workers for each of the 16 hours of operation (1 manager on duty, 1 pool supervisor, 2 lifeguards, 1 front desk clerk, 1 janitor, and 1 extra just because its government) ...  Imagine if the facility-wide average wage was $20 hour...  16 hours of operation x 7 laborers x $20 an hour x 365 days per year = $817,600 annually (before FICA and health insurance).  The facility is not open a fraction of that time and that level of staffing is not necessary.  Where is $2.4 million in personnel expenses going?   The staffing expense is literally 3 times a prudent level.

Q&A:

Q1.  Are Recreation Center employees really being paid more than teachers and lawmen?

   A1.    At least 7 are...  Colorado Open Record Act Requests allow disclosure of "public payroll compensation by job title"... pay rates by the hour have NOW been confirmed by the City of Delta...  Freedom Of Information Act Requests can further redact sensitive or private personnel info in order to name "names".  As such, here are 2 distinct websites that provide insight into some alarming figures for 2023 compensation:

 https://govsalaries.com/salaries/CO/city-of-delta

https://opengovpay.com/employer/co/city-of-delta

Q2.  Since the city sales tax increase to fund the rec center pool and HVAC renovations last decade, how many times have the Rec Center’s hours of operation been reduced?

  A2.  6+ reductions is 6 too many…  Beside reduced hours, the number of days open each year has been systematically dwindled down with extra holidays off and “closed for scheduled cleaning” days further reducing accessibility.  Restated: while the Rec Center's availability has been diminished over the past decade, payroll expenses being drawn from the Rec Center budget have increased by over $800,000.

Q3.  What is the actual budget for the Rec Center?

  A3.  Find the adopted 2025 City Budget on the City Of Delta Website - https://www.cityofdelta.net/finance/page/city-delta-budgets

Rec Center specific figures begin on page 19 of 2025 budget (which is page 64 within the pdf itself). Despite more than adequate sales tax funding, the accessibility keeps getting reduced.  Compare tax funding inputs to payroll (personnel expense) outbound...  

Q3.2.  The 2025 city budget projects a potential expansion to the Recreation Center in 2029… how will that project be funded and what is the point if the facility is seldom open?

  A3.2.  It would be prudent to question city council and follow-up frequently.  City sales tax is already suffocating.  If the facility is seldom open, why expand it?  Recall, there is no such thing as “government funded”, it is all taxpayer funded.

Q4.  After the city sales tax increase to fund rec center operations was made permanent in 2014, why were other city divisions and business units merged together?

  A4.  Shortly after ballot approval there was a time when the Rec Center, Parks and Rec, and the Golf Course were merged together to “tap” tax collections previously earmarked exclusively to the Rec Center… The other business units were losing money and over budget.  The Golf Course, in the years since, has reestablished semi-autonomy within the city budget.  It is unclear if or how many golf course salaries are still being drawn from the consolidated "Parks and Rec"...  Hours of operation at the Bill Heddles Recreation Center have been diminished repeatedly ever since.

Q5.  It sounds like the local administrators have been playing “3 Card Monty” with the tax collections earmarked for the Recreation Center to balance other mismanaged business units?

  A5.  The language on 2014 ballot question 2D extending the city sales tax collections leaves room for interpretation in how the city sales tax gets allocated.  While unjust is NOT illegal, leeching the budget with frivolous payroll allocations is an unsavory habit.   As it turns out, increasing city sales taxes to fund the rec center then reducing hours of operation while raising city employee pay is exactly why oversight of “government efficiency” is needed.

Poll Question 1:  How many times have you been turned away at the rec center by surprise closures or reduced hours?

Poll Question 2:  Do you think a $1000 per week salary is sufficient for a Rec Center Coordinator?

Poll Question 3:  Is the Rec Center membership you purchased now drastically different and subject to an undisclosed change in hours?  Bait and Switch is often illegal:

https://reportfraud.ftc.gov