It’s my impression that, until it was brought to the Town Manager’s attention, Ms. Jacobs had no priority to relinquish the Town’s financials. One wonders if this was due to the Town Council not making it a priority or if it was simply not a priority of Ms. Jacobs.
There is no good news to report
In the past, the one area where we were doing well was with the Town’s portion of the Community Center. However, through November 2019, The Town’s operations (fitness, recreation programs, non-Aquatic Center swimming) lost $34,827. For comparison, at this same time in fiscal 2018/19, the Town had profited $7,650.
YOUR sales tax revenues amounted to $956,766 which is $47,303 more than last year. The money spent for capital improvements remains at $20,835, without a penny being spent on ADA compliance. The transfers out remain at $148,810 which is to pay for an Energy Efficiency Bond.
Another shell game
The $148,810 transfer is interesting. The Town Manager reported to the Council that there was no debt service concerning the Community Center Fund (CCF). When I asked her what the $148,810 was for, she replied that it was a transfer to the “debt service fund” to pay for the bond allocated to the CCF. It seems that she wants the Council to believe that there are no bonds associated with the CCF, when in fact, there is one.
Troon Golf has lost $1,031,624. (Revenues of $1,084,403 minus expenses of $2,116,027). The golf revenues (non-member play) were $353,357. This is $71,621 less than FY 2018/19. Non-member play allowed for 2,755 rounds on 45 holes of golf. The public course within 5 miles had 3,211 rounds on just 18 holes. That’s 456 more rounds. Why aren’t we doing better? After all, according to the members, the courses are in the “finest condition ever.” So why hasn’t Troon improved on these numbers?
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| Nov. 2019 YTD Financials (Click to Enlarge) |
The Town is searching for a new golf operations management firm
The only good news is that the Town has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) in an effort to find a new contractor to manage the Town’s golf operations. According to the RFP:
“The successful contractor will provide comprehensive services to improve the operation, maintenance, and financial performance of the Town’s two 18-hole golf courses, including food and beverage operations.”LOVE will report a bit more on this Friday.
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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.
