Miami Dade County is the largest county in the State of Florida, and one of the largest counties in the United States. The residents of Miami Dade County demand quality services from their local government. Part of those services are parks and open spaces so that their children can run and play. Parks so that they can study and enjoy nature. Parks that are free to use and open to anyone that wants to play, enjoy nature, or simply relax at a park or open space or field. Miami Dade County Residents deserve parks that are well maintained, properly staffed, and are either free to use or at a very low cost that the average resident can afford. Unfortunately Miami Dade County is experiencing massive budget cuts as well as a county wide hiring freeze that is effective until June 2017. These budget cuts are most directly affecting the way Miami Dade County runs its Parks and Open Spaces department. The department is currently understaffed and this understaffing is affecting constituents as well as the parks themselves. Although the hiring freeze and current budget cuts are only until June 2017 many are forecasting more budget cuts to be included in the budget for the next year as well as less Federal Funds as lawmakers nationwide have decided that parks are no longer a national priority. The budget cuts for Miami Dade County Parks isn’t merely a local problem but also a national problem as State and Local Parks nationwide are facing massive budget cuts and many of the same problems that the Miami Dade County Parks and Open Spaces Department is currently facing, including understaffing and closures of parks. This is due to an attack by the Republican party who believes that parks aren’t a priority and that if patrons of the park want to use parks and public spaces than they should be willing to pay for it. Various States are implementing different methods to increase funding to parks, some are raising fees, some are relying on Non-profit organizations or even Companies to take over management of the park as well as capital in exchange for partial ownership of the Parks. These practices are putting Parks at risk as the entire system is threatened to be privatized as more and more State and Local Parks lose vital State Funds and Donald Trump proposes major cuts to the National Parks Service as well as to the EPA. This is nothing more than private use for public lands and State Local and Federal Government must begin spending on our parks instead of allowing public lands to be taken over by private companies and corporations and charging high fees for spaces that should be open and accessible to the public.
Excellent write!