Photo Credit: © Wutthichai Luemuang | Dreamstime.com
Editor’s Note: This column, “LBWA” (Leadership By Wandering Around), is based on the premise that, in order to find out what’s going on in the field, a parks and rec leader has to leave his or her desk and “wander around” the area of operations, talk to people, ask questions, and kick around ideas with the individuals in the thick of delivering services to the public. So the author will bring up issues and ask the leaders among the readership to share their knowledge and experiences.
I am fairly certain, without doing any surveys, that at this writing most readers in the recreation field are being affected by this unprecedented nationwide financial crisis.
It’s definitely unprecedented in the 12 years I’ve been involved in municipal government. I’ve written before that nearly every year our financial prognosticators swear that the upcoming year is going to be the worst ever and the wolves will be at the door. That is, after all, their job--to keep the rest of us focused on the bottom line as we provide services to citizens.
Knocking At The Door
This time, however, the wolves are not only at the door, they’re inside the house chasing us around like Goldilock’s grandma. By even the most optimistic projections, 2010 is going to be a watershed year that will set the operational trend of local, state and national governments for decades.