City of Toccoa Creates Budget for Golf Fund

The city of Toccoa sets its budget for the rest of the fiscal year for the golf department.

Monday, Toccoa City Commissioners voted on a budget amendment to create a budget for the municipal golf fund for the rest of the current fiscal year, which runs through June 30.

During a work session prior to Monday’s meeting, city commissioners discussed the budget for the nine-hole city-owned golf course off of Black Mountain Road, which has been closed since late last summer.

Toccoa Public Works Director Randy Smith said some of the largest expenses in the proposed golf budget for this year are the re-grassing of the greens and the irrigation system.

Smith said they will actually be putting in a second irrigation system to complement what is already there.

“We are talking about putting in a second irrigation system,” said Smith. “This would be for the irrigation of the greens.”

He said the current irrigation system would work fine for the fairways.

Smith said the other major expense in the proposed budget is the purchase of equipment that will be needed for the operation of the golf course.

“We can purchase used, but even at a used price, the total is $77,000,” said Smith.

City commissioners were given the option of either purchasing the equipment outright in this fiscal year or purchasing the equipment by using a lease option that would delay any payments on that equipment until the next fiscal year.

That would save the city $77,000 in this fiscal year’s budget.

Toccoa City Manager Billy Morse said his recommendation is to go with the lease option.

“I would suggest the GMA lease pool,” said Morse. “We have used it with success in the past. It limits your immediate outlay of cash.”

City officials did note that the city may have to spend the $77,000 in this fiscal year to purchase the equipment, but then get the $77,000 reimbursed back to the city from the Georgia Municipal Association Lease Pool before beginning the lease payments next fiscal year.

City commissioners voted unanimously to take the money needed for the golf fund from the Commission Reserve Account.

The net amount that will be taken from the CRA, after the city is reimbursed for the equipment purchase through the lease arrangement, will be just over $325,000 in this current fiscal year.

City commissioners also discussed the timeline for reopening the course during Monday’s work session.

Smith called the current schedule an aggressive one.

Under the current timeline, the city hopes to re-open the course on or around August 13.