It's been a rough year for Sarasota and Charlotte County YMCAs, and it may get worse before it gets better.

Carl Weinrich, president and CEO of the Sarasota Family YMCA, announced in January the closure of the following three programs, due to a lack of funding:

* The Character House, a residential program in conjunction with the Department of Juvenile Justice for pregnant teens, which was projected to lose more than $210,000;

* The Bowman Ranch, a group home for kids between 11 and 18, which was projected to lose more than $250,000;

* The Transitional Living Program, where homeless children between 16 and 22 learn job skills, lost its federal grant.

Weinrich cited the combination of state funding cutbacks, a general downsizing of foster care within the organization, the downturn in the economy and a reduction in membership revenue as a "quadruple whammy" that forced the end of the programs.

"We actually started off by laying off 50 or 60 people about a year and a half ago," when the agency had well over 400 full-time employees, Weinrich said. "And then we got into some government cuts, so it totaled 115 (layoffs) in this last go-round. We're down to 262 full-timers and 595 part-timers now."

Weinrich added the YMCA had aimed at reducing its operating budget from $42 million to $37 million in time for July 1 when the new fiscal budget starts, and cutting the three programs was essential to getting the organization out of the red.

South Sarasota County picture

The situation is not quite so bleak for the South Sarasota County Family YMCAs in Venice and Englewood, Weinrich said, due to the fact that those facilities don't immerse themselves so deeply in programs such as the ones he had to cut.

"We all have afterschool (programs) though, and all of us are hurting on that," he said. "People are out of work, so they don't need child care after school."

Julia Steele, director of development at the Venice Y, agreed, maintaining South County's burdens are far less than Sarasota's.

"We have about a $9 million a year budget," Steele said. "But we're not involved in the types of programs Sarasota offered, such as (those for) teen mothers."

Steele added the Venice and Englewood Y's are tightening their own belts. For the fiscal year ending June 30, their budget will total $8.7 million; by the same time next year, that number will shrink to $8.5 million. Individual memberships are on a course to shrink from 17,248 to 15,680 over that time, she added, while non-members served are on a pace to reduce from 5,000 to 4,000. Finally, the employee head count is projected to decrease from 325 to 300, she said.

"We are doing our best to cut our expenses in every department," Steele said. "Only essential purchases are approved right now. Staff duties have been expanded so that if someone leaves, and we are able to delegate out those responsibilities to existing staff to cut expenses, we do so."

South County YMCA President & CEO Ken Modzelewski added the company is on the lookout to help or partner with other YMCAs to maximize resources and achieve economies of scale.

"In this way, those in need in our community will continue to be served," Modzelewski said.

Charlotte challenges

Paul Versnik, president and CEO of the Charlotte County Family YMCA, echoed concerns raised by his Sarasota County colleagues, but maintained his ship would not capsize in the current economic storm.

The CCFYMCA, Versnik said, oversees six operations, scattered over Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte and North Port -- four of which are membership branches, where members enjoy workout facilities and fitness programs.

"One (operation) is strictly a child care branch," he added, "and one is an outdoor center on about 16 acres that we own."

The North Port Y, Versnik said, has a child care center.

"We rent space at Peace Christian Fellowship Church on Sumter Boulevard and we also run what is called a Voluntary Prekindergarten Academy, subsidized by the state, right there at Dallas White Park," he said. "Between those two operations, we have about 110 children."

Versnik added the daycare branch in Port Charlotte serves 70 infants and preschoolers, and an afterschool child care operation -- in conjunction with nine Charlotte County elementary schools -- helps families of another 600 kids.

"And I'd say we've actually increased our numbers of kids over last year," Versnik said. "Especially in our North Port operation, which handles 48 children. That one's full. We can't take any more kids."

Overall, memberships are "holding steady," Versnik said, although they are "down slightly" over what they were two years ago.

"Right now, we're at about 11,500 members," he said. "And our total budget this year is $4.9 million, which is down from last year's $5 million budget."

Versnik said some employee positions have been eliminated, while some full-time jobs have scaled back to part-time to shore up deficits in the budget. In addition, wages have frozen across the company.

"This year, we're at about 200 employees," he added, "where last year we were as high as 250."

Perhaps the most significant cut has come in the Y's summer day camp program, Versnik said, which was reduced by 50 percent. The reason, he conceded, probably had to do with the fact that many more parents are now unemployed and are home to watch their kids.

Despite the grim outlook, Weinrich maintained a degree of optimism.

"I heard a polling company did a survey of about 1,200 calls up in the St. Louis area," Weinrich said. "And they were saying in the health and fitness area that they predict about a 4 percent growth for 2009. I've seen it before. In a downturn, we'll lose people who have lost jobs, but people are using our facilities three and four days a week instead of one or two. I think things will turn around by this fall. At least, I hope so."

E-mail: ssmith@sun-herald.com

By STEVEN J. SMITH

Sun Correspondent