Cuts force reduced hours at Evansville Youth Center
Podcast Episode
A tight city budget means fewer hours at the Evansville Youth Center. A $10,000 budget cut means a reduction of hours from 15 to 10 per week and no summer hours. Kyle Geissler reports. You can read more in Thursday's Janesville Gazette.
Photo 
Daniel B. Wietecha
Photo
Dr. Thomas J. Den Boer
EVANSVILLE — The Evansville Youth Center will be closed this summer under a new contract between the city and the YMCA of Northern Rock County.
The agreement also reduced the number of hours—from 15 to 10—the center is open after school each week.
The center’s hours were cut starting in January, and the city and the YMCA worked under a “handshake” agreement, City Administrator Dan Wietecha said. The city council voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve the contract.
A tight city budget forced officials to cut funding for the youth center by $10,000 this year. That translated into programming cuts proposed by the YMCA, which operates the center at the city-owned building at 209 S. First St.
“When talking about services, especially for kids, especially in a small community, it’s devastating if they have to take a cut financially,” council president Mason Braunschweig said. “But unfortunately because of the nature of the budgeting process, it’s one of the first places you look at for a cut.”
Police services, snow plowing and other daily services can’t be cut, he said.
“Inevitably, these really nice services that are great for the community end up getting cut because at the end of the day life can go on without them,” he said.
Signing the agreement was delayed a month because council members wanted more information. Concern arose at the finance and labor relations committee because the YMCA proposed a cut in services of about 50 percent even though the center’s budget was cut only about 30 percent, Braunschweig said.
“It did look like a discrepancy at its face,” he said. “We wanted to get more information on what that cut in service aspect meant to the program as a whole.”
The bulk of the service cuts—closing the center in June, July and August—is when attendance is the lowest, he said. The youth center averages 17 students after school, but has “significantly less” students in summer, he said.
YMCA CEO Tom Den Boer said the service cuts had to be made because the funding cut limits activities and affects supplies and staff wages.
“Our goal is to stay there (in Evansville),” Den Boer said. “Whatever they can offer, we’ll adjust accordingly.”
The youth center’s advisory board also is looking into ideas for new, larger fundraising that could potentially restore some of the cuts, Braunschweig said. School officials have entered the conversation to work closer on the center’s future, he said.
Kids attend the youth center for free, which is a rarity to today’s youth center market, Den Boer said.
“It’s extremely rare, almost like it doesn’t exist anymore,” he said. “(Typically there’s) always a nominal fee for youth to attend a youth center.”
Feb 19, 2010 at 4:49 p.m.
Suggest removal
rockresident~~I hate to tell you that you are wrong. The youth center budget is completely seperate from the YMCA budget. Money raised for the youth center stays in the youth center. The YMCA budget does not get any moeny from the youth center.
The city has been wanting to cut funding to the center for some time now and this should not have come as a big surprise to the Y, the advisory board or anyone else. It is sad that something more proactive wasn't done to fill the gap this will leave in the budget.
Feb 12, 2010 at 7:51 p.m.
Suggest removal
It's too bad something beneficial like that was cut. It's not like there's a lot for Evansville Youth to do. At least now they can just run around town and see what kind of trouble they can get in to, just like the kids in Janesville.
Feb 12, 2010 at 12:56 p.m.
Suggest removal
Den Boer says that free center are rare and most have fees - FALSE! Look around. Most youth centers in our area including all of southern Wisconsin do NOT charge fees and are free.
Den Boer's comments are (as usual) not researched or thought out. He is trying to get people to accept his idea to charge users a fee to go into the Janesville YMCA general fund for his future building projects. Nice Try.
Feb 12, 2010 at 12:20 p.m.
Suggest removal
I also informed the school that 'Hank' is back on the boards , if they want to call the gazette and get his info, and go after him for his slanderous comments. It would be nice to see them sue him, they could use the money.
Feb 12, 2010 at 12:18 p.m.
Suggest removal
ALSO HANK, it goes to show how little you know about the center, it had very limited hours to begin with. It was not 'raising' anyone children.
Feb 12, 2010 at 12:16 p.m.
Suggest removal
Evansville and its council is a joke. They have failed and failed again to bring any business into town. They fail so the kids and the tax payer pay. What a freakin joke investing all that TIF money into that stupid insurance office on West Main, Dave Mosher's. People are not going to come to Evansville to see all the office's that line main street. Evansville is in the hole its in because of spending of the council. They have failed the city . They can not get business to come to town because we have the second highest taxes in the county thanks to our council. Have you checked out your electric bill this last month? Holy Smokes. Between taxes and water and light bill they will drive people and business out of town. They sure won't be bringing any in.
Feb 12, 2010 at 12:11 p.m.
Suggest removal
Hank are you serious, what employers? The school is the biggest employer. Baker laid off, and has not called back hardly anyone. Varco Pruden laid off and are hardly moving. But then again this is Hank tends to lie to suit his purpose.
Feb 12, 2010 at 9:11 a.m.
Suggest removal
Oh and one other thing It seems the cosmetic needs for buildings and businesses to make their city/town look better is IMO the biggest issue in the spending of the local governments with Tax payers money. Personally I like going to towns that have the original and nostalgic look.
Feb 12, 2010 at 9:08 a.m.
Suggest removal
The summer is when kids need places like these the most. It seems that things needed for kids is put on the back burner and they wonder why kids get into more trouble these days. When kids have nothing to do they make do and this is where the problems end up. Kids are JUST as Important as anyone else and priorities need to be considered with kids in mind.There is nothing for kids in Janesville to do without costing an arm or leg. Thank goodness for the boys and girls club. But older kids are left to find something and when they are bored and need something to do sometimes their choices are not the brightest. They start hanging at each others houses and the access to adult choices is pretty high (alcohol/prescription drugs/ and some weed or other illegal drugs that some irresponsible parents think is harmless) and thus we have a problem. Just my Opinion The old saying "IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD" has been lost as to the children in todays society....
Feb 11, 2010 at 7:06 p.m.
Suggest removal
So if we had none done the windmill or new police station, we could have given more to the kids? Yes indeed priorities.
Before you post a comment, consider this:
Note: GazetteXtra.com does not condone or review every comment. Read more in our User Policy AgreementPost Comment
Commenting requires registration.