Why does a city not far from the middle of nowhere need to subsidize a golf course? Ontario, Oregon has about 11,000 people (and, according to Census Bureau estimates, the number is declining) on Interstate 84 near the Idaho border. Scott McKinney, the golf course manager, recently told the city council that he needs $221,500 in public funds to open the course in 2014.
That just about $20 per resident and nearly double what the city spent subsidizing the course in 2013. The course is generally open (weather permitting) from March 1 to November 15, so it just closed.
Ontario is the largest city in Malheur County, whose land area is greater than New Jersey‘s but which has only about 31,000 people. Ontario is on Interstate 84, so any golfers who drive through might want to play at the course. It’s an hour away from Boise and six hours from Portland.
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“I gained the trust of the membership,” McKinney told the city council. “The next step is I need to gain the city’s trust. You’ve been throwing a lot of money every year at the golf course, and it’s been spent and the results are poor. The money needs to be spent properly. This year on a tight income, I believe a consensus with the membership is we did a very good job.” Tight budget? The city gave it $375,000 over the previous two years.
McKinney concluded with the old ‘you can’t stop funding it or all your previous subsidies will be wasted’ ploy. “If you guys are going to not fund it, there’s a whole lot of wasted money,” he said. “There’s no kicking the can down the road. If you don’t act, you won’t have a golf course.”
It’s not like anyone in Ontario is going to go insane from not having enough golf courses. There are two other golf courses near Ontario (one in Payette, Idaho, just across the Snake River), and at least 18 in the Boise-Nampa-Caldwell area. Maybe, if golfers aren’t willing to pay for the Ontario course themselves, not having a golf course would be the best solution.
You can put General Aviation airports on the same list.
Come on, how else are they going to attract the creative class? Plus, I did this survey that showed that people are coming from as far away as Idaho to play golf there! Don’t stop now or all the previous subsidies will be wasted!
The city should just sell the golf course. Even if they sold it for $1.00, they would save over $200,000.00 a year in costs.
My guess is they would get a lot more than a $1.00 and that the private owners would somehow not need subsidies to make a profit.
But some cushy taxpayer supported jobs would be lost.
I’ve been finding the conversations about wealth redistribution interesting as of late. My observation is that despite all of the bitching about welfare queens we don’t really take from the haves and give to the have-nots. We take from the haves and give to the have-mores. It’s one area where I feel the public is close to consensus across the ideological spectrum. Right, left, liberal or conservative, nobody likes to see massive subsidies go to country clubs.
I assume this city council is elected by the people, right? If a majority of the people of Ontario want to subsidize a golf course—or a general aviation airport, or a streetcar—isn’t that their right? And if they don’t, aren’t they also free to vote the city council out of office?
Ohai,
Yep. You’re right.
No one has said you can fix stupid.
.
“I assume this city council is elected by the people, right? If a majority of the people of Ontario want…”
“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” HL Mencken
And in Seattle, which elected the first non-closeted socialist, we’re going to get stupidity good and hard.
And if they don’t, aren’t they also free to vote the city council out of office?
That’s fantastic that the voters in that city can turn back the clock to prevent this incident from happening. I wish we could do time travel here.
DS
How often do public recreation facilities that pay for themselves in user fees? Parks, swimming pools, gun ranges, ski areas, boat marinas, golf courses, baseball fields, hockey rinks, basketball courts, beaches, etc?
The typical sales job is that the taxpayers build the facility and the user fees pay for operating costs, with the hidden understanding that the major maintenance is deferred until the facility is in bad shape and a new major subsidy will be required to “save” the investment.
I guess a golf course is singled out because it is viewed as being used by the rich. But it also could be viewed as a town goal to try to attract richer citizens
My Uncle lived in Weiser Idaho, a smaller community about 20 miles from Ontario, for many years. He was a golfer. Generally he golfed at a country club in Weiser. This country club featured a 9 hole golf course and a club house that resembled a small town coffee shop which also sold golf equipment. He had paid a small amount (I’m thinking around $200) for his membership. He has since moved to Boise so I don’t know what has happened to the golf course but when I googled it it looked like it was still there. I guess this shows that government subsidies for a golf course aren’t needed, even in a small town on the Idaho-Oregon border.