If the new Recreation Centers of Sun City West Governing Board is looking for strategic plan objectives to work on, how about these?
1. Rec fees from 2017 to 2024 have risen 42%. The only reason it was not greater is the board decided not to raise fees in 2020 due to the whiplash they anticipated during the pandemic. APF during the same period has gone up 62%. Social Security in the same period went up 28.2%.
2. Too many full-time equivalents. Reduce salaries by 20%. RCSCW has too many managers and staff — golf superintendents, senior superintendents, golf pros, managers, assistant managers, leads. A job description does not dictate a paid position. Statistical activity dictates FTE. How many people, members, customers do you manage or wait on each hour or day warrants an FTE, not a job description.
3. Golf. Less than 25% of our population has set foot on a golf course. Consequently, 75% of us are financing golf that has way too much FTE and loses several million dollars a year. Wittle down the staff and at a minimum, have golf courses break even.
4. Get rid of company cars. Many corporations have gotten rid of company cars. I was told we have them because of “emergencies.” What emergencies and how many do we have on a golf course a year?
5. Building and remodeling. The rubberized pool decking is just one example of the complete disregard for guiding principles that should be followed, including:
• Durability — has to hold up to public use.
• Ease of maintenance — how do we clean it, how much does it cost to clean it and what facilities will be affected for how long while repairs and cleaning are in progress?
6. Investment policy. We are in violation of our investment policy, which has a primary goal, “Preservation of Asset Value.” The stock market and bond funds cannot guarantee that.
7. Stop using the income side of the Income and expense report to solve problems. Reduce expenses.
8. Internal controls. There are no internal controls or internal auditor. The manager has a $50,000 expense approval limit. It doesn’t appear anyone reviews accounting transactions, vendors, bids, etc. and reports to the board.
We hired a manager with zero experience managing a large-scale property such as ours. Why?
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