The Oro Valley Town Council decided last evening to pay for town owned golf course improvements on a “pay as a go” (“PAYg”) basis. This continues the policy the town has had in effect for paying for improvements since the town purchased 47 holes of golf in 2015.
PAYg means that improvements will be paid from the existing revenue stream less the cost of subsidizing golf. That existing revenue stream is the dedication of 20% of Oro Valley’s sales tax revenues.
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| Motion As Passed By Council Click on it to enlarge |
Read and watch the KGUN9 report here. The report states that the town "...will not use city funds to pay the bill." This is wrong. The funds to pay for the refurbishments come from the 20% of the town's local sales tax revenues that are dedicated to golf. Those are "city funds." What the council did decide was to not go into debt or to take more money from city funds.
The KVOA report focuses on the homeowners disappointment but fails to mention the substantial subsidy the town already pays for golf. They aren not victims. They are the beneficiaries of the town's generosity.
Also, KVOA misrepoted that the town was going to borrow a "chunk of money" to pay for the improvements. This is not so.
The motion, as passed, is shown in the panel at right.
Recall effort to continue
The recall effort will continue. It will continue, not because of this decision. It was going to continue anyway.
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Read Mike Zinkin's continuing analysis of the cost of town owned golf to our community in the following post.
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