Source: Great Falls Tribune (Great Falls, Mont.)
The city Park and Recreation Department is eliminating the job of superintendent as part of a plan to trim more than $160,000 from the golf course budget deficit.
Patty Gumenberg, deputy director of the department, said Jeff Peters won't be retained.
Peters has supervised maintenance at both Eagle Falls and Anaconda Hills golf courses for three years. Eliminating his job will save about $57,000 annually.
Gumenberg said she will take over Peters' previous budgeting responsibilities, and that greenskeepers at both courses, plus the two golf professionals, will assume his other duties.
The city didn't employ a golf course superintendent until 1997, when a major remodeling project began at Eagle Falls. Fourteen of the 18 holes received new tees and greens; sand traps and water hazards were built.
The city had to borrow heavily to pay for the project, and although golf course revenue increased, it hasn't been sufficient to pay off the loans.
"This position (superintendent) was the most recent full-time position created in the golf fund. Therefore, it is logical that it be the first to be removed from the budget," Gumenberg said.
City Manager John Lawton and a committee of city staffers recommended the budget cuts. Members of the Golf Course Advisory Board didn't participate in the process but were notified of the cuts this week.
Gumenberg said the golf fund was $250,000 in the hole, and cuts were recommended in several other areas to reduce the fiscal year 2005 deficit.
* Deferment of payment on two internal loans, $75,854.
* Reduction in temporary salary budget, $10,000.
* Operating cost reductions, $9,900.
* Recalculation of personnel budget, $8,120.
Total yearly savings amount to $160,774, leaving the city about $90,000 short of operating a balanced budget for the Golf Fund, said Gumenberg.
"The city has a history of operating the golf courses at a deficit," she said.
The internal loans are from the Insurance and Safety Fund, for $70,000, and from the Parks and Recreation Special Revenue Fund, for $248,289. Gumenberg said City Commission approval is needed to write off the Parks and Recreation loan because the commission approved the original borrowing.