Wicomico Shores GolF Club clubhouse (Photos courtesy of the St. Mary’s County Recreation and Parks website)
:Leonardtown, MD — The Commissioners of St. Mary’s County say their Wicomico Shores Golf Course has to pay for itself. The course has an accumulated operating deficit of $37,000. Recreation and Parks Director Brian Loewe requested a $70,000 subsidy for the golf course for the next fiscal year. The request was denied during a Mar. 9 budget work session.
Commissioner John O’Connor [R – 3rd District] led the charge against the subsidy. “If something is hemorrhaging you want to stop the blood,” he said, asserting that layoffs or benefit cuts may have to come to get the operational budget in balance.
Chief of Staff/Director of Human Resources Sue Sabo quickly got up and informed the commissioners that many of the staff working at the golf course had been there for years and “some are approaching retirement.” She said dealing with any layoffs will be difficult. “There’s a Reduction in Force (RIF) process,” she said.
Later O’Connor added, “I hope we look at the operating budget before we look at employees. Employees are the extreme last resort.”
The golf course used to make a lot of money. Then there was the perfect storm of the decision to build a new clubhouse at the same time the recession hit and the number of rounds of golf declined dramatically.
Commissioner Mike Hewitt [R – 2nd District] said “It is continuing to be a loser after the recession. Discretionary income is down and golf is a discretionary sport and expense.”
In addition to the annual payment of the loan for the new clubhouse (even with a refinancing) the golf operation has been burdened with the addition of OPED (Other Post-Employment Benefits) contributions into a trust fund that equals the amount that had been requested for the subsidy.
Loewe, in a memo to the commissioners, said a number of initiatives had been taken since 2011 to save money and increase revenue, including eliminating a full-time position in grounds maintenance, eliminating a food/beverage manager position, replacing a vacant position with a less costly hourly position, cuts in the food/beverage operation and heightened marketing efforts.
There also was a refund to the golf course enterprise fund of $148,536 in Admissions and Amusement taxes. Also a portion of the administrative reimbursement for several central office staff was reduced but not eliminated and is still being charged to the account.
The number of rounds, which was in the 37,000 to 41,000 range for a number of years in the early part of the 2000s, has declined to 28,363 in 2014.
Hewitt said during the discussion that the folks at Brent Bay Golf Course feel the lower prices at Wicomico are also hurting them. Loewe said the pricing is a reflection of the market and the hopes to attract Charles County and King George County golfers in addition to those in St. Mary’s. Morgan noted that the base golf course was even more of a competition because of its subsidized fees.
At one point Chief Financial Officer Elaine Kramer suggested that the commissioners consider the subsidy as a one-time deal. And O’Connor at one point said he may be willing to cover just the existing net deficit.
But in the end the commissioners decided to deny the subsidy all together. They asked Loewe, the golf course management and Sabo to get together and come up with a plan to get the golf course on an even keel. Because of the complexity of the issue Sabo said it would take at least two months for them to come back with a plan.
Contact Dick Myers at news@thebaynet.com