By DENNIS WYATT

Manteca (Calif.) Bulletin

Manteca took out a 25-year loan in 1978 to use the old wastewater treatment plant site to expand the golf course to 18 holes and built the tennis courts along Union Road.

The last payment will be made in 2013 to free the golf course of a $52,000 a year obligation.

Twenty months ago the final annual $175,000 payment was made on a lease-purchase arrangement to build the golf course clubhouse in the early 1990s.

The end of payments on those two long-term debts has improved the long-range financial outlook for the city’s municipal golf course that - based on the last survey in 2010 - has the most play of any municipal golf course in the Northern San Joaquin Valley.

The golf course’s financial future plus the need to address capital improvement needs has been helped by employee concessions by city personnel and re-examining staffing levels. The city is now planning for higher ticket capital improvements that had been postponed in the past due to a lack of money in the golf enterprise account.

This year’s proposed budget includes $47,500 for new equipment to aerate the greens. The existing aerator is 21 years old and has become expensive to maintain.

As a result of employee concessions and the reduction in debt the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2011 marked the first time in more than a decade that a loan wasn’t needed from the general fund to the golf course operations to cover all expenses. A loan is not needed this fiscal year either.

Altogether, $1.4 million was loaned to the golf course. There is no council directive in place on how - or if - that money will ever be repaid the general fund.

And there is debate as to whether that $1.4 million figure is a fair number. At one point during City Manager Bob Adam’s administration, a push was made to charge all enterprise accounts - including the golf course - a 20 percent general administrative fee to recoup costs that general fund departments spent on supporting enterprise endeavors.

The council’s reliance on the general fund isn’t over. The preliminary budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year that the council is considering adopting later this month includes continuing the $155,000 infusion for “the recreational benefits” the course provides for Manteca. In the past the $155,000 annual payment was considered how the city was underwriting free youth play through the high schools as well as discounted rounds for senior citizens.

The general administrative and overhead charges that are assessed other enterprise account such as water sewer, and solid waste collection have been suspended since July of 2007 for the golf course account. The charges are what it costs other municipal departments to support the golf course.

The golf course for the fiscal year ending June 30 is expected to generate $1,142,230 from rent and the  city’s share of concessions from two private sector operators that run the course and its food service operations - golf pro Alan Thomas and restaurateur Frank Guinta. That’s up $25,000 over last fiscal year.

The $1,142,230 in revenue is against $1,056,615 in expenditures. Take the $155,000 that the city shifts from the general fund to cover reduced or free youth play and the course would be operating with just about a $70,000 deficit.

The City Council will examine this year’s proposed budget during a workshop Monday at 2 p.m. at the Civic Center council chambers, 1001 W.  Center St.