The head of the state’s Parks and Recreation Department last week spoke of “restoring the public trust” at a nearby event in Agoura, after the department was rocked by a financial scandal last summer.
Retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Anthony L. Jackson called revelations that the department had secretly stashed more than $54 million, at a time when many parks were closing due to budget cuts, “a tremendous blow” to supporters of State Parks and its mission.
“We let you down. State Parks let you down,” Jackson said Friday, at the Las Virgenes Homeowners Association’s 46th Annual Banquet at the Malibou Lake Mountain Club. “The reality is I’ve been working now over the last six months to restore the public trust, by coming to organizations like this.”
Jackson’s appearance, taking place on the six-month anniversary of his appointment as director, was the latest in a statewide speaking tour aimed at restoring faith in the embattled park system.
Jackson spoke before an array of state and local officials, including State Sen. Fran Pavley, L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, Assemblyman Richard Bloom and Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy director Joe Edmiston. Representatives from Malibu and other cities were also in attendance at the banquet, which featured an enthusiastic crowd comprised of many in the environmental community.
Pavley, in introducing Jackson, lauded him as “the right person at the right place to lead our State Parks.”
During a 35-year career in the Marine Corps, Jackson commanded operations at six Marine bases in California and one in Yuma, Ariz. Pavley commended him for pushing the military to invest in alternative energy as a way to provide power for its bases and vehicle fleets.
Jackson was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to head up the reeling Parks department in November 2012, four months after revelations surfaced that the department had concealed $54 million in secret funds even as it planned to close 70 parks in 2011. The closures were avoided because local cities and nonprofits put up their own money to subsidize the operation of the parks, which deepened the sense of betrayal when the secret funds were discovered. The scandal resulted in the resignations of former director Ruth Coleman and other agency officials.
Jackson repeated multiple times that “restoring public trust” was his main goal. His second objective, he said, was an action plan to streamline the department’s finances and maintain its facilities.
“I look forward to having a more rational discussion about State Parks’ budget,” Jackson said, noting that roughly a quarter of the department’s budget comes from the state’s general fund and another quarter from “21 different bonds and bills.”
“We have this crazy quilt pattern of how we’re funded,” Jackson said.
The director alluded to a plan set forth last year to get the struggling department back in fiscal health. Legislation passed by the state legislature in 2012 required the department to develop a revenue generation program, with the goal of increasing revenues in parks by 2016. Suggested capital projects included installation of new fee collection equipment and technologies, such as credit card machines, as well as new campground development and cabins.
He did not comment on a study published by the nonprofit Little Hoover Commission in March, which concluded that State Parks had too much land to maintain and urged it to hand over control of some parks by entering into partnerships with local governments and nonprofits. However, transferral of some parks is considered to be an option down the line.
The 46th Annual Las Virgenes Homeowners Federation Banquet was dedicated to the memory of past president John Low, who passed away unexpectedly last year.