Let’s begin with some historical facts.December 17, 2014 Council Meeting. During the December 17, 2014 council meeting, during the discussions about purchasing the Community Center and Golf Courses, the Mayor bragged that he would not saddle the residents of Oro Valley with a 20-year bond debt for the Community Center and Golf. (Scroll down to the article “Then and Now” published on Monday to read his exact quotes.)
During that same meeting, the Power Point presentation presented by then Town Manager Greg Caton showed how the Community Center/Golf expenses would be covered with the 25% increase in our sales tax.
January 6, 2016 Council Meeting. Councilmembers Burns, Garner, and myself pointed out that just six months into operations, the golf investment had over $1.9M in losses and the Overlook Restaurant had over $148,000 in losses. Vice-Mayor Waters responded by chastising us and telling us to “get on board.” And with that, Hiremath-Hornat-Snider-Waters dug in their heels, accepting the fact that the Town would lose money on this endeavor for at least 5 years.
April 6, 2016 Council Meeting. Councilmember Snider blamed the lack of golf memberships on information that I had presented to the public which she said was “creating a headwind in town.”
Councilmember Hornat, when asked by a Channel 4 reporter, “What is your Plan B?” replied, “I’m not sure there is a Plan B.”
Burying their heads in the sand
When the monthly “actuals” repeatedly failed to match the “projections,” I asked then Town Manager, Greg Caton to revise the estimates. He refused to do so, replying that he worked for the majority of Council, not just one council member. The majority did not desire to see revised estimates (it’s easier to bury your head in the sand) and thus they were never prepared.
That Council majority is still in office and will not press Troon for accurate estimates.
Now let’s look at the current state of affairs.
The Town Budget for FY 2018/19 is $143.2 million. That’s $20 million more than the budget for FY 2017/18 which was $123.2 million.
After Mayor HIremath said in 2014 that he would not saddle residents with a 20-year bond for Community Center and Golf expenses, the FY 2018/19 budget includes…wait for it…a $6 million dollar, 20-year bond for Community Center and Golf Course improvements.
Town Policy forbids bonding for continuing expenses
The current Oro Valley Financial and Budgetary Policies forbid bonding for continuing expenses. One could argue that the Community Center/Golf operation is a continuing expense, but the Town is framing it as a ONE-TIME expense since the bond money will be used for improvements and not for monthly expenses such as payroll or utilities.
Town’s Philosophy: Use one-time revenues for one-time expenses
And now the plot thickens because if we look at it from the Town’s perspective as a ONE-TIME expense, there is still a problem. The Town’s philosophy has always been to use one-time revenues for one-time expenses. Yet they plan to support payment of the bond with the annual $800,000 in sales tax revenues from OV Marketplace that the Town will receive when the sales tax sharing agreement with Vestar expires in November 2019. Sales tax revenue is not one-time revenue, it is an ongoing revenue. Therefore, using sales tax revenues to pay for a bond is against the Town’s philosophy.
To clarify, using one-time revenues for one-time expenses is within the Town’s policy. Using ongoing revenues to pay for one-time expenses is against the Town’s policy. But we all know by now that this Town Council does not follow Town policies or philosophies.
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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.
