By Frank Bagnato | Sun City West
Administrative staff of The Recreation Center of Sun City West prepare an annual budget that projects the following year’s income, expenses, and revenues over (under) expenses, sometimes called net profit. This budget is then used to calculate how much our dues will be in the new fiscal year, too. It’s not a projection. It’s what we must pay, like taxes. Now comes the good part.
In four of the past five years, the Rec Center has grossly overestimated the amount of money that will be needed to pay wages and benefits. This creates a positive variance, a surplus if you will, in that income statement account.
Said surplus is never spent on employee wages and instead used to cover negative variances on other expense accounts where perhaps enough funds weren’t budgeted. Seems simple enough until one sees the magnitude of this overestimation.
From July 1, 2020, through March 31, 2025, the sum total of this positive variance is $2.348 million paid for by residents as part of dues. No employees were ever hired on whom these funds would have been spent. Based on historical job opening figures, (sometimes as many as 20 in any given week,) there will always be a core group of various open but unfilled positions, yet this padding of the budget in my opinion continues. This figure will likely climb another $150,000 or so by the time the current fiscal year ends on June 30.
I brought this to the attention of current Board President Jack Leary as well as incoming President Christine Novello, but neither see anything wrong with this budgeting. I’m certain the new budget is going to pass as soon as the board votes on it, though hopefully enough members will see the light and turn it down. In my opinion and professional experience — it’s deceptive and unethical even if perfectly legal. The more things change in Sun City West, the more they stay the same!
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