Wednesday, January 30, 2019

The Watchdog Report: November 2018

The Town is doing something different with the monthly financials
During the Hiremath regime, the financials were always on the Consent Agenda and rarely pulled for discussion. Now, with a new council majority, Town Manager, Mary Jacobs decided that staff will now give a brief presentation of the financials.  This will allow for greater transparency and also allow an opportunity for Q&A between the Town Council and staff.  One wonders why this was not done during the Hiremath years.

Financials through November 2018
The CCF ended November 2018 $321,761 in the red. Given the fact that the CCF started the fiscal year (July 1st) at $71,563 in the red, the total losses for the CCF are $393,324. Will staff claim that this trend is normal?

Through November 2018, Troon’s revenues were $1,087,548. The bad news is that this is $138,365 less than November 2017. Troon’s expenses were $2,189,791. The good news is that this is $178,410 less than the same time last year.

The Overlook Restaurant lost $15,423 in November 2018. That is $4,942 more than they lost last November. The total losses at the Overlook so far this fiscal year are $62,325.

Statistics
The number of non-member rounds played on the Town’s courses totaled 3,034 on 45 holes available. For comparison, a public course within 5 miles totaled 3,788 rounds on 18 holes available.

At the start of the fiscal year (July 1st), Troon forecasted their losses to be $1,893,595. At 41% of the way through the fiscal year, Troon has already lost $1,102,243. Historically Troon has not come close to their projected losses, yet the Town Manager saw fit to extend their contract another 6 months.

The current model is not working
We have a new Council majority and the Town Manager has briefed them on what she thinks they need to know. The record of the disastrous purchase of the HSL properties is clear. We have 42 months of empirical evidence that something has to change.

YOUR sales tax revenues so far this fiscal year (July 1st through November 30th) total $903,463. Even with those revenues, the CCF is over $390,000 in the hole. The current model is not working, so I do not understand why Mary Jacobs insists on maintaining the current model of 45 holes of golf.

The town has scheduled two Town Council Community Center/Golf Study Sessions.   The first one took place on Monday evening (January 28).  The second one is scheduled for Wednesday, February 20th.

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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.