The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow...

At least they used red ink for Fy14's $135,654

Amherst Finance Director Sandy Pooler exhibited the same curious protect-at-all-costs-the-expensive-game-of-golf attitude oozed by his predecessors John Musante (now Town Manager) and Nancy Maglione, relying on the tried and true bad weather cliche for yet another abysmal performance at the Cherry Hill Golf Course budget half-way mark.

Curiously he declared revenues only "slightly down". Hmm...17% is "slightly down"!? Are these not the same town officials who screech louder than an Irish banshee if state aid to the town is reduced by 1 or 2%?

And Mr. Pooler fails to mention the $226,308 in capital improvements slated over the next five years for the ailing enterprise. But since expensive capital items (as with insurance and employee benefits) come out of a budget separate from golf course operations, town officials hope nobody will notice.

Makes you wonder what else they're hiding.

More $ down the drain

Amherst Cherry Hill Golf Course (metaphorically speaking)

Just so all of us "customers" have time to adapt, Amherst announced six months in advance a 3% price hike in water and sewer rates. Yeah, that $24 annual increase takes a long time to soften the shock. Thanks.

Or I suppose households could cut back--a bath here and a toilet flush there. But try telling that to my two kids.

Now too bad the town could not correspondingly swing a magic golf club and guarantee an increase in the bottom line at our floundering golf business. Interestingly, the town has incrementally increased rates almost every year for the past decade or so but it still loses money hand over fist because of sinking interest in the expensive game of golf.

And with H-U-G-E capital infrastructure expenditures coming up soon, those already too large losses will only grow exponentially.

Government seems to do just fine in the marketplace when it has a monopoly on a vital service like running water or education, but tanks in a competitive arena where good quality at a fair price matters.

Unfortunately the taxpayers are all too easily tapped to cover the difference.

Hidden, catastrophic cost of golf

Cherry Hill's K-Mart quality golf clubhouse

Last night Leisure Services director Linda Chalfant presented the FY13 upcoming budget to the four-out-of-seven members of the recreation commission who bothered to show up, and dubbed Cherry Hill squandering $40,000 last year as, "effectively a break even year." Easy to say when that money is not coming out of her $80,000 annual salary.

And this current year, according to the numbers generated at the half-way point, Cherry Hill is on target to lose another $60,000. And the following year--hold on to your golf caps--well over $100,000!

Because unlike a household or small business, in the wonderful world of municipal accounting little things like employee benefits, insurance and expensive new commercial equipment do not count towards your "operation budget." Last year those three expenses amounted to $40,000--all of it paid for by taxpayers, not a dime from golfers.

Wouldn't it be great if you could buy a new car or truck out of a secret account nobody was watching?

At seasonal closing, the beleaguered golf business has totaled only $82,779, $17,284 under last year, and the lowest amount in six years. Expenses are identical--especially those hidden ones nobody likes to admit.

For instance, capital expenses this year include a $14,154 "fairway mower", next year another $14,154 fairway mower plus a $12,000 rough mower for a total of $26,654.

But what the Hell, since nobody cares about capital items why not go on a whirlwind shopping spree--all of it taxpayer funded? In FY14, two years from now, capital improvements will include yet another fairway ($14,154) and rough mower ($12,500) fence replacement ($24,000) and parking lot resurfacing ($24,000) for a whopping grand total of $135,654 .

If the diffident School Committee can bite the bullet to save money by closing down Mark's Meadow, a beloved elementary school, Town Manager John Musante needs to step up and make the call that should have been made ten years ago: board up the money pit.

Cherry Hill: A sucking sinkhole

Despite Finance Committee assurances to Town Meeting that our lackadaisical golf course would produce "a small surplus for FY 11," (ended June 30) Cherry Hill scored yet another losing season costing Amherst taxpayers $40,000, money that could have funded a police officer, firefighter or teacher--a far better use for tax dollars than subsidizing the Rich Man's Game of golf.

According to draft figures provided by Comptroller Sonia Aldrich, Cherry Hill generated $223,538 in revenues on "operation expenses" of $220,140 which are the only two figures town officials ever wish to compare.

Since Cherry Hill requires employees, the hidden human costs--employee benefits--which are paid out of a separate budget totaled an additional $25,230; and business liability insurance $3,300 plus a big ticket capital item: $15,000 to dig a new well to feed the expensive irrigation system. Total overhead of $263,670 on revenues of only $223,538 equals $40,132 in red ink.

In 1987 Amherst absorbed the nine-hole golf course after a developer proposed 134 high-end houses around the golf business, which he planned to donate to the town or UMass Stockbridge School of Agriculture for free. Instead, the town--at the urging of North Amherst NIMBYs-- used the power of eminent domain as an "emergency measure" (thereby making the heavy handed action immune to voter Referendum) costing taxpayers a whopping $2.2 million, the most expensive acquisition in town history.

The golf course operated as an "Enterprise Fund" (tracking all revenues/expenditures) because the business was supposed to cover all expenses--including employee benefits--plus show a profit. After operational losses of over $1 million Town Meeting dissolved the Enterprise Fund status five years ago, allowing town officials to hide costs and issue disingenuous press releases touting "net operating profits."

Nero supposedly fiddled while Rome burned. In the People's Republic of Amherst, town officials fiddle with golf--at taxpayers expense.

Treading in a sandpit

So I’m a tad surprised the Town Manager and our Leisure Services recreation empire have not issued one of those disingenuous press releases trumpeting how terrific the Cherry Hill Golf course—our municipally owned White Elephant--performed this past year (FY10 ended June 30)

And indeed, compared to all too many years this past one was a hole in one, with "expenses" of $217,220.94 and overall revenues of $250,381.04. Although the town manager and LSSE did project last year that Cherry Hill would intake $262,000; and none of that $12,000 difference comes out of their hides.

But still, before you conclude the business turned a profit of $33,000 those “expenses” do not include that pesky $25,000 in employee benefits or $7,000 for clubhouse and liability insurance paid out of separate, hidden, parts of the town budget.

And this year they did not have any capital items (like last year’s $22,000 lawnmower for instance), which of course begs the question: why no capital items?

A golf course is exceedingly hard on heavy equipment, and since a study done five years ago discovered two-thirds of Cherry Hill’s extensive collection of heavy machines were beyond their rated lifespan, kind of makes you wonder?

Deferred maintenance is an easy but shortsighted way to make a budget look good.

And this past March the DPW had to scurry out to the golf course (at the expense of many other more important things they do) and help spruce it up for an early spring opening.

When the Amherst Redevelopment Authority met with Hanover Town officials recently regarding development they did with Dartmouth College for our proposed Gateway Project with Umass, town manager Julia Griffin mentioned how refreshing it was to be away from her former gig in the capital city of Concord—mainly because of the tough politics and the constant drain on the city budget from two municipal white elephants: an airport and a golf course.

Sooooo, I guess it could be worse…


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Ass't Town Mgr John Musante: Hate that damn capital! (makes me twitch)