Gallagher tried, failed to secure Seattle Parks funding

One day after submitting his resignation, the director of Seattle Parks and Recreation aired his frustration over the "dire straits" of the budget — and his failure to convince the mayor that parks need to be funded in a different way to survive.

Tim Gallagher said Tuesday these issues played into his decision to leave at a time when his department faces the biggest cuts in its history.

He said he wanted a ballot measure to help fund operating costs. Seattle needs to consider a system like Tacoma's, he said, where parks are run through an independent body that has the power to collect taxes.

He met with top members of Mayor Mike McGinn's staff — Budget Director Beth Goldberg, adviser Ainsley Close and Deputy Mayor Phil Fujii — but no one was swayed, he said.

"We've been trying for months," Gallagher said.

Then there was the media coverage of his travel expenses.

In recent weeks, Gallagher, 57, attended a series of out-of-town conferences, the latest of which was in Australia. The trips this year cost taxpayers more than $7,000, according to records from the Parks Department. His annual travel budget is $10,776.

News of the Australia conference was first reported by KOMO and appeared on the local news site PubliCola. It also appeared in The Seattle Times blog Politics Northwest.

When he was in Melbourne, Gallagher said, he and his wife had some "deep discussions" that led to his decision to resign.

"Some of the press has been very personal and impacted my family," he said, calling the amount of media attention "exorbitant."

"I don't need that," he said.

On Monday, he met face to face with McGinn for the first time. That's when Gallagher delivered the news.

McGinn spokesman Mark Matassa said the mayor had called the meeting to speak with Gallagher about his travel expenses. Gallagher already had his resignation letter in hand.

McGinn was not available for comment Tuesday.

Gallagher's last day on the job will be May 7. He will be paid for his remaining vacation hours, which add up to $15,867.

Gallagher, who earned $166,438 last year, was picked for the parks job in 2007 by then-Mayor Greg Nickels. His hiring came three years after retiring as director of Los Angeles County's Department of Parks and Recreation.

In Seattle, Gallagher oversees more than 1,000 employees and a $130 million budget.

Some commissioners on the parks board said they were surprised by the resignation.

Neal Adams, who was appointed in 2007, said he was impressed with Gallagher and enjoyed working with him.

"He was like a breath of fresh air," Adams said. "He's always been straightforward and clear about what his aspirations were. He pushed for some things and he pushed pretty hard."

At times, that stirred up tension.

Gallagher's decision in February to go against the board's recommendation and ban smoking outright in parks sparked angry e-mails to his office.

"The Gallagher smoking ban is just plain stupid," wrote one person. "Why don't you change your title to Chief of the Morality Police."

He later backed down in favor of a ban that allows using tobacco only if at least 25 feet away from another park patron.

There were other controversies — quickly scrapped plans to name a park after Seattle's sister city of Perugia, for one.

But the most pressing issue, Gallagher said, is how to find the money to maintain a growing parks system.

He acknowledged that he didn't actively approach the media about the problems, because, he said, it can be tricky politically. But, he added, he spoke about it to the City Council and at various public meetings.

Four voter-approved levies over the past 15 years have added millions to the capital budget. That money, Gallagher said, has helped create more than 40 new parks, fund extensive renovations and build new community-center space.

At the same time, he said, existing operations and maintenance dollars "can't support it."

The way he sees it, the department is faced with two options: Get out of certain operations, such as running pools or community centers. (Gallagher said he doesn't support that.) Or create a municipal-parks district that brings in its own tax revenue. Running a parks department through the city just isn't sustainable, he said.

Carol Everson, parks finance director, said this week the department faces more than $10 million in cuts in 2011.

But Gallagher won't be leading the way out.

"I came out of retirement to run this park system and that was a great honor," he said.

Perhaps, he said, quitting can bring the budget problem "to the forefront of where it needs to be."

Sonia Krishnan: 206-515-5546 or skrishnan@seattletimes.com. Staff reporter Emily Heffter contributed. Information from The Seattle Times archives was used.