Recreation, library

As the Norfolk City Council prepares to vote on the fiscal year 2023 budget, I am hopeful that the plight of Norfolk families with limited access to municipal services such as recreation centers and libraries, is given full consideration. While we are experiencing an unpreceded increase in youth gun violence in the city and the nation, it would seem appropriate that we consider how community resources designed to support and strengthen Norfolk families and taxpayers are made accessible or not. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 20% of the Norfolk population, roughly 48,000 individuals, is younger than 18 years old.

Norfolk City Manager Larry “Chip”

Filer in his statement regarding the 2023 budget wrote: “Public health concerns closed facilities early in the pandemic and limited their use as the pandemic continued. As the public health landscape began to improve, staffing challenges continue to slow the expansion of programming. I am confident the actions included in this budget to address recruiting and retention concerns will mitigate many of our staffing challenges. As a result, the proposed budget includes a Service Capacity Reserve that provides ongoing funding to allow further expansion of recreation and library services when we have the capacity and staffing to do so. This results in a total of $2.4 million in new funding for expanded recreation and library programming.”

We applaud the city manager’s pledge to support Norfolk families and strongly encourage the council to approve funds to expand recreation and library programming.

Merrie Jo Milner, Norfolk