Pusch Ridge Golf "Off to a great start"...But no "lessor" in sight
At Wednesday's Town Council Meeting, Town manager Mary Jacobs' reported activities that have been taking place at the Pusch Ridge golf course. The course opened in November and is "off to a great start." Among other things, she noted that the course has hosted two successful frisbee golf tournaments.
Tony D'Angelo, President of the "Friends of Pusch Ridge Golf", discussed the remarkable success of the course. 3,958 rounds of golf were played on the course in November and December. That is equal to total rounds played in 2020, the last year the course was open. "We are confident that we are going to more than exceed the budget."
Neither speaker reported on whether and how the town is taking on the challenge or reducing the enormous amount of drinking water used to irrigate the course.
The town has yet to find someone to lease the course. "Per Town Council’s direction, the Town issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) on November 1, 2021, to competitively solicit proposals for an operating lease at the Pusch Ridge Golf Course. The Town received one proposal from HGM Golf. The proposal was evaluated by Town staff relative to the requirements of the RFP and the specified evaluation criteria. At its conclusion, the proposal was deemed to insufficiently demonstrate that HGM is capable of successfully leasing and operating the Pusch Ridge Golf Course, and as a result, the Town will not proceed with further contract award actions with this firm. The Pusch course continues to perform well and is ahead of revenue projections for the season." (Source: Town Manager January 2022 Executive Report, P1)
"Things continue to look positive in all our funds." This was the opening comment of Wendy Gomez, Oro Valley Finance and Budget Administrator, as she covered the town's financial situation through November. According to Gomez, all general fund revenue sources are trending positive. Expectations are that actual revenues will exceed budget by $4.8 million. That's a 10% increase over budget. At the same time, expenditures are expected to be $1.1 million under budget. The net result is an almost $6 million over budget result for the General Fund.
Other funds, including the Community Center Fund, are projected to be either on budget or slightly better than budget.
Town undertaking staff compensation study
The town is undertaking a study its compensation to employees. "The Town is finalizing its evaluation of proposals for the planned employee classification and compensation study. The City of Tucson, Town of Sahuarita and Town of Marana have all conducted similar studies recently that have led to some adjustments in their respective employee pay structures, either planned or implemented. The Town will be following the same process. Being
the final municipality in the region to do this puts us in an advantageous position regarding salary comparisons. We expect to have the study completed by this summer and I plan to include funding in my FY22/23 Recommended Budget for implementation once finalized and approved by Council. Based on our counterparts’ changes or planned changes to pay structures, we do anticipate our own pay plan adjustments will be necessary to keep pace and remain competitive." (Source: Town Manager January 2022 Executive Report, P1))
The last compensation study that Town did in this area several years ago. It resulted in significant increases in employee compensation.
PSPRS Investment performed at "historic levels" in 2021
The town invested $27 million last year remind insurance in the Public Safety pension fund. Responding to a question of Vice Mayor Barrett at Wednesday's council meeting, Town finance Director and Gephart stated that the investment performed at historic levels in 2021. "The return for the fund was over 27%."
This result is a tremendous win for the town. Town borrowed the $27 million they invested in the fund at an interest rate of approximately 3%. That investment earned a return far greater than that.
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