What is it with municipal councils and money-losing golf courses? Why can’t politicians just cut the tie and move on?

Abbotsford Today has a great piece on Abbotsford Council’s love affair with the money-losing Ledgeview Golf Course, which it leases to a non-profit society to operate. Of course, that non-profit has been losing money and now wants a bailout from taxpayers. The best part is what Abbotsford staff say is the root cause of the downturn—and how they would fix it.

“Their shortfalls are as a result of poor weather impacting green play and as a result of food and beverage operations and the pro shop. Additionally reductions in memberships with the ongoing difficult economic conditions have resulted in the shortfalls.”

Got that? Poor weather is the issue. A few paragraphs later, in the same report:

“The golf course staff and Board have done much work and need to do much more to get to a point of financial profitability. Good weather, better controls, and continually challenging current practices are being worked on. The Board and staff are making a genuine effort to meet the demands of the City and its members.”

Look, a council has a lot of control in a city—but it has none over weather. How do you work on weather? Further, they’re making a “genuine effort?” What kind of effort were they making before.

Golf is not a core priority, and property tax dollars should not go to subsidize it. Sell Ledgeview and move on, Abbotsford. You’d be doing your taxpayers a huge favour.

This isn’t the first municipal golf course to pop up on the radar this year—we all remember Saanich’s Cedar Hill, which lost $820,000 last year, due mainly to fewer golfers and ridiculously overpaid CUPE staff. This is an issue that has gone on for years. We suggested CUPE buy it, but, sadly for taxpayers, they haven’t taken us up on the offer.

Enough with the golf already!