Wednesday, November 14, 2018

The Watchdog Report: August 2018

Community Center Fund
The August 2018 Community Center/Golf numbers are in. The Community Center Fund (funded with your sales tax revenues) to pay for ALL the expenses for the Community Center/Golf ended August 2018 $215,610 in the red. This is what Hiremath-Hornat-Snider-Waters referred to as “breaking even” during their 2018 re-election campaigns. This deficient includes $356,161 in your sales taxes to offset the losses.

Revenues were 869,664. Expenses were $1,121,274. When you add the fact that this fund started the year $74,010 in the hole, you get a fund balance as of August 31st of minus $325,620.

We lost $75,177 more in August 2018 than in August 2017.

Troon Golf
Troon’s revenues were $13,345 less in August 2018 than August 2017. This is partially because the dues the members pay were $10,752 less in 2018. What happened to the robust membership income? As of September 30, 2018, golf membership is down to 214. For comparison, golf membership in August 2017 was 238.

The Overlook Restaurant
The Overlook Restaurant lost $21,661 in August 2018. They pay no rent, they pay no utilities, and they do not pay for advertising, yet they still lose almost $700.00 a day. Since the close of FY 2015/16 (the first year of operation) the Overlook has lost $384,685 yet the “Hiremath” Town Council and Town Manager kept it open.

Summation
The golf membership is at an all time low, the Overlook continues to lose money, your sales tax revenues continue to increase, the Community Center Fund continues to be in the red, yet the Troon contract has been extended for another 6 months to December 2019. Additionally, the Pusch Ridge course was reopened on November 1st and we will continue with the same 36-hole model that includes private membership.

We still have September and October numbers to see before we can close out the legacy of Hiremath-Hornat-Snider-Waters. Although those two Watchdog Reports will be published after the new Council is seated, the numbers posted in those upcoming reports will still be the responsibility of Hiremath et. al.
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Mike Zinkin has a Bachelor’s degree in history and government from the University of Arizona and a Master’s degree in Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education from California State University, Northridge. He was a commissioned ensign in the United States Navy Reserve. He was an Air Traffic Controller for 30 years. He and his wife moved to Oro Valley in 1998. Mike served on the Oro Valley Development Review Board from 2005-2009 and the Board of Adjustment from 2011-2012. He served on the Town Council from 2012-2016 during which time he was named a Fellow for the National League of Cities University, he was a member of the National League of Cities Steering Committee for Community and Economic Development, and a member of the Arizona League of Cities Budget and Economic Development Committee.