Even though it is expected to bring in about $700,000 for the year, the Fort Smith, Ark., golf course operates at a loss. In order to cut costs, the county opted to reduce staff, to not replace a portion of the golf cart fleet, and to delay the purchase of new equipment.
According to Sebastian County Judge David Hudson, the Ben Geren Golf Course in Fort Smith, Ark., is expected to bring in about $700,000 in revenue this year, but still operates at a loss, the Fort Smith (Ark.) City Wire reported.
“Five years ago, we were closer to operating at our cash flow,” Hudson said. “The golf course is a direct reflection of the economic times and the golf market’s been flat, so we actually came closer to running it with our revenues several years ago and we haven’t the last few. We’re going to be at least $150,000 short of our expenses over our revenues this year and a lot of that remains to be seen—how we operate the rest of the year, what we spend and what kind of play we have.”
Adding to the expenses, said Parks Administrator Shannon Toland, is the fact that the golf course has full-time employees drawing county benefits, with three full time and two seasonal in the pro shop, and six full time and three seasonal on the maintenance staff, the Wire reported.
In order to stem losses, Hudson has taken steps such as not hiring the recommended number of staff to man the golf course, the Wire reported.
“If you look at standards and so on, it will show that we need more people. But typically the county does not staff it at what national standards are,” Hudson said. ” We’re trying to operate this as responsibly financially as we can. And that’s including reductions we’ve made over the last five years.”
Part of that reduction is not replacing the golf course’s golf cart fleet this year, as has been done in years past. Hudson said in a typical year, a fourth of the golf carts at the course, about 25, are replaced. But this year, the county opted to wait a year before taking such action. According to Justice of the Peace Danny Aldridge, whose district includes Ben Geren Regional Park, the cost savings realized from that action saved the county about $100,000, the Wire reported.
County officials considered a lease program, but Aldridge said it was not any more feasible than the long-established purchasing program. The county has also delayed the purchase of new equipment, such as a tractor and brush hogger, that Toland said are needed for upkeep. Not purchasing the new equipment has saved the county about $70,000, he said.
Hudson also started a volunteer program where members of the community give of their time to help maintain the grounds and act as marshals, collecting golf balls and doing other odd jobs to keep staff expenses down, the Wire reported.
“The feasibility study was done in conservative fashion and that’s why it projected a loss. If you’re planning on something, you’re going to be very conservative in regard to what your revenues are going to be. And hopefully we are too conservative and reality is going to show it’s closer to breaking even or making money,” Hudson said. “We won’t know, but we’re planning in our budgetary plan (a loss of) at least $30,000 a year and we also have a partner to share the loss with and that’s the city of Fort Smith.”
Adjusting green fees and other possibilities to right the golf course’s revenues have been among Hudson’s toughest challenges since becoming judge, the Wire reported.
“Quite frankly, that’s been an ongoing dilemma I’ve had since 1999,” Hudson said. “And how to deal with the costs, green fees, cart rentals, the annual memberships and the other aspects of running a golf course. It’s been as challenging of a thing to deal with as I’ve had and that includes planning and building a courts building, working on expansion of the jail and all of the issues with it.”
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