Ione Community Members Rally To Save Pool From Closing

IONE (CBS13) – With a population of 4,000, the city of Ione is small and its budget is shrinking.

The city is down to 12 employees after a third of its staff and a quarter of the city's revenue have been cut.

"It really collapsed on us this last fall," said Interim City Manager Jeff Butzlaff.

From $2 million a year, Ione now has $600,000 less to work with. Funding for the city pool was one of the first things to go dry.

"I was sad," 10-year-old Patty Rice said.

Their 50-year-old prized pool at the junior high is packed every summer.

"This is part of the tradition of what being in Ione is all about and the hot summers we have here," said Butzlaff.

To keep their pool from sinking, the community presented a plan to City Hall to sell summer passes and cut lifeguard salaries. And local businesses dove in head first by donating $10,000.

"They just want to make sure they're not losing their actual community," said Angela Bennett, who serves on the Save Our Pool committee. "I think there's certain things the local citizens hold onto that they want to keep going."

So the summer pastime has been preserved, even if they're the ones who have to pay the price.