Should local taxpayers foot the bill for others to play golf? That was the decision made by one southern suburb earlier this year.
Taxes are serious business–don’t pay them, and you go to jail or lose your property. Even so, voters in one Minnesota town have decided that the power of government should be applied so that some people are able to … golf.
As the wealth and geographic scope of metropolitan areas expands, owners of golf courses often find it more desirable to trade lawn mowers, fertilizers, and sand trap rakes for cold hard cash from a real estate developer.
The usual reaction can be predicted. Golfers lament the loss of a favorite spot, neighbors get upset at the prospect of new housing blocking their views, and, and some people want to get other people to pay for their pleasures.
Mendota Heights is a southern suburb of Saint Paul. It is also home to the Mendota Heights Par 3 Golf Course, a par 3 golf course (1,277 yards).
The course has been the subject of a protracted legal dispute, with owners wanting to sell and the appropriators wanting city government to use private property for their own gain.
At last the matter was put to a vote. The result? Residents will pay $50 a year–for the next 15 years–to satisfy the pleasures of a few.
According to the Saint Paul Pioneer Press:
After a hard-fought, four-month campaign, golf course supporters won 53 percent of the vote – 1,865 to 1,611, a difference of 254 votes. About 42 percent of voters in the St. Paul suburb participated, “a phenomenal percentage for a special election,” City Clerk Kathleen Swanson said.
Robert Bonine, an opponent of the measure, said “This money is going to pay for a ragged golf course that’s going to fail in three years.”
Fail? Lose money, perhaps. As a government entity, it won’t simply go out of business. On the other hand, residents could easily see their taxes go not only to pay for the golf course, but to subsidize its day-to-day operations.
John Huber, mayor of the city, supported the referrendum:He thinks the golf course will turn a modest profit, as it has for much of the past decade. Between 1995 and 2005, the course ended only one year with a slight loss. In all other years, it was in the black. Its best year was 2001, with $253,689 in revenue and $167,410 in expenses, for a net operating profit of $86,279.
If the course is self-sustaining, it competes with other, privately owned courses. If it is not self-sustaining, it gains the demerit of becoming a government white elephant.
On the other hand, the mayor thinks there is an upside:
If the course fails to generate enough revenue, the mayor noted, the city could sell the land for a profit, citing its appraised value of $3.2 million.
Government arbitrage. Great. Another government speculating in business.
Mendota Heights / Voters OK city’s purchase of golf course, Saint Paul Pioneer Press, April 25, 2007.