Phoenix leaders are scheduled to vote this week on a plan to pay back money taken from a parks fund to bail out the city’s golf courses.
The eight courses, operated by the Parks and Recreation Department, were meant to be self-sustaining and not require outside funds. In 1998, the courses started experiencing consistent deficits and little capital investment. According to a council report, the city carried the shortfall as an account receivable for nearly 12 years and grew to a total of $15,032,000.
In 2013, the council voted to use Phoenix Parks and Preserve Initiative funds to save the courses and get the deficit off the city’s books. The move angered some people who said the money, approved by voters in 2008, was meant to preserve and expand parks, not cover golf debt.
The Parks Department says golf now has the smallest gap between revenue and expenses of any recreational program it offers, including swimming, softball, and soccer.
The council will decide whether to use proceeds of eligible city land sales to pay back the funds.
