Close Menu
Berlin, Ocean Pines News Worcester County Bayside Gazette Logo Berlin, Ocean Pines News Worcester County Bayside Gazette

410-723-6397

Pocomoke budget talk goes into rough over golf course

 (May 4, 2017) A lively and heated budget discussion took place during a Pocomoke City Council meeting on Monday with the fate of Winter Quarters Golf Course hanging in the balance.
Mayor Bruce Morrison said the budget was the worst he’s seen in more than a decade and at one point City Manager/City Attorney Ernie Crofoot discussed handing in his resignation.
Crofoot said although Pocomoke is hopeful that Worcester County would approve a $450,000 request for fiscal year 2018, the financial numbers are still not favorable.
“The picture is bleak,” he said. “We have about a half a million dollar budget shortfall.”
Among a number of cost-saving measures Crofoot suggested was the possibility of closing Winter Quarters, which has been in operation since the 1934, to turn the 45-acre property into a passive park. Last year the course lost about $150,000, Crofoot added.
“It’s not a profitable venture,” he said. “That takes truckloads of money and a passive park wouldn’t do that. It would save a lot.”
With revenues of approximately $50,000 last year, Crofoot said the course would have to quadruple that figure to become profitable.
Another cost-cutting measure suggested by Crofoot involved cutting funding to the Pocomoke Volunteer Fire Company for the next fiscal year budget.
If approved the fire company, which received $150,000 in funding last year, would still receive $43,000 in pass-through grant money, but the town would save about $107,000, Crofoot said.  
“They’re doing a heck of a lot better than we are,” he said.
Despite the attention on trimming the budget figures, Crofoot also proposed reinstating a previously dropped emergency medical crew for the ambulance and hiring two additional officers for the police department.
“We made a promise to put more officers on the street,” he said. “The budget provides for filling those jobs.”
During the public comment portion of the meeting, varying opinions were shared regarding the financially troubled golf course.
Pocomoke resident Monna Van Ess, who recently lost her bid for City Council to Dale Trotter, said during her campaign the overriding sentiment was to close the course.
“I could not find any residents who want to keep it open,” she said. “For 20 years it lost almost a $100,000 every year. It’s time to call it quits.”
From her perspective, Van Ess said the town would see a significant savings by eliminating the financial losses.
“That money could be very well spent providing youth activities,” she said.
Taking a different bent was Barbara Tull, with the Winter Quarters Ladies Golf Association, who spoke in favor of maintaining the course.
“The course has been and still is a very important part of Pocomoke City,” she said.
Tull suggested improving the distribution of rack cards advertising the course to improve revenues.
“We need to get it into the hands of somebody who might want to know about us,” she said.
Don Holdren, a part-time employee at the course, agreed with Tull’s suggestion to increase promotional efforts.
“They don’t know a golf course is here,” he said.
Although Pocomoke recently increased advertising of the course, Crofoot said the deficit gap might be insurmountable.
“I don’t see any amount of advertising causing that to happen in a world where most of the municipal courses are doing as poorly as ours,” he said.
Despite efforts to locate other areas to trim in the budget, Councilman Brian Hirshman, who said the large monetary shortfall wouldn’t be addressed without major cuts, agreed the course should be closed.
“We’re talking about pennies in the jar,” he said.
Councilman Dale Trotter assigned the blame to the city.
“We have failed the golf course, not the golf course has failed us,” he said.
Speaking out in support of the golf course was Councilwoman Diane Downing, who also wants to see improved promotional efforts.
“I think it will help the economy if we push it more,” she said.
Weighing in the middle was Councilman George Tasker, who suggested the course remain open until January to see if improved advertising would have any impact.
Expressing his displeasure was Morrison, who said in the past Pocomoke was able to allocate resources to meet its financial goals.
“It just baffles me. I’ve been here 12 years and this is the first budget I’ve ever seen this bad,” he said. “This year is the worst and I just don’t understand it.”
Crofoot said the troubling financial data built over time.
“All these years of not paying attention to detail is coming back to bite us,” he said. “Not everybody has to deal with the unexpected costs [and] with all the deferred maintenance in the city.”
After Crofoot claimed he was disrespected during an exchange with Councilwoman Esther Troast, the city manager said he has considered resigning his position.
“I told the mayor the other day if the right job comes along I am out of here because I am tired of beating my head against the wall,” he said.
“We have a half-a-million-dollar problem and we’re sitting and talking about $2,000 here and $3,000 there. When you add them all up it ain’t going to make 10 percent of this shortfall, but I don’t get the sense that anybody wants to do the things that are hard to do.”
At a loss for other suggestions, Crofoot said closing the golf course would make up a substantial amount of the projected budgetary shortfall.
“There are real needs in this city that if we’re going to spend $150,000, spend it where it has more per-capita benefit,” he said. “They’re hard choices … it’s hard for me to suggest them.”
Budget discussions will continue this month and, if the City Council reaches a consensus at a meeting scheduled for May 22, the budget resolution would be introduced during the council’s regular meeting on June 5.