The City of Grand Junction is reorganizing its golf operations, reducing its total number of full-time employees from eight to six, while adding a new PGA-certified head golf professional.
Grand Junction Chief Financial Officer Jay Valentine said the staffing reduction was an effort to keep the golf operations, which is an independent fund within the city, sustainable and competitive.
“Really it’s eliminating two positions because we right-sized it to be the most successful going forward without having to compensate by increasing rates over what’s going to be palatable,” Valentine said.
Grand Junction’s two municipal golf courses, Lincoln Park and Tiara Rado, are run as an enterprise fund, which sustains its operations with fees charged to users and not taxpayer money, City Manager Mike Bennett said.
“We have to make sure that our expenses are covered by the revenues,” Bennett said. “Typically with an enterprise fund our labor is probably somewhere in about 18% of that total cost. Golf had gotten to 41%.”
Bennett said the director of golf position, held by Tim Tafoya, will continue, as will the superintendent. The eliminated positions are a golf shop assistant and two assistant golf professionals, Valentine said. The city’s golf agronomist, the person who cares for the course’s grass, will also be moved from full-time to seasonal.
“One of the things you know about golf,” Valentine said, “(seasonal employees) work really well in that business because obviously it’s a seasonal business.”
While the city is eliminating those three positions and moving one to seasonal, Bennett said it will be recruiting for two new positions — a head golf professional and an assistant superintendent.
A request by the Sentinel to discuss the changes with Tafoya was not granted by the city. A city spokesperson said comments on staffing changes come from city leadership to “ensure information is shared appropriately while respecting the privacy of those involved.”
Valentine said he understood that there was significant public interest in the changes to the golf operations as it is a visible department of the city.
“Golf is so public facing and a lot of customers have strong relationships going with those people that work there,” Valentine said. “So they take it personally as well and I get it.”
While the city is not expecting to see usership at the two courses decline in the coming year, Valentine said it still needed to make changes as it sees its costs increasing. He said municipal golf has to maintain lower fees in order to be competitive with private courses.
“It’s a competitive industry and golfers have options of where they want to golf,” Valentine said. “I think municipal golf serves a very defined purpose, a unique purpose that keeps it affordable. So everybody can afford to play golf, not just at the country club or at Redlands Mesa where it really eliminates some people’s affordability to play. In order to keep that going, you have to keep buying ways to keep the rates competitive and definitely below some of the other courses.”
While the changes will affect the full time staff at the city courses, Valentine said it is not planning to make changes to its seasonal employment or its volunteer program.
