Black Gold golf, school finance numbers

This week I'll update two money-related matters from past columns:

First, considerable savings on interest payments for the Black Gold Golf Club bond debt —totaling some $15.6 million on June 30—is expected when the bonds are refunded for a second time, according to a recent report from city Finance Director Dave Christian.

Interest expense on the long-term construction financing can be trimmed about $250,000 per year from the current annual payments of about $700,000. The bonds, refunded previously in 2003, “are now eligible to be refunded again in 2013,” Christian noted.

Refunding to take advantage of interest rates now “at historic lows” won't add to the life of the bonds, which are scheduled “to be fully paid off by 2033,” Christian stated.

Golf course revenues are projected to reach $5.9 million for the just-commenced 2013-14 fiscal year and $6.1 million in 2014-15, with expenses, not including the interest payments, totaling $5.7 million in each of the two fiscal years.

Interestingly, according to city-supplied figures, 2012-13 revenue from green fees and cart rentals have dropped nearly 29 percent from the first full year of operation, while food and beverage sales have increased just over 65 percent.

In fact, Black Gold's first full fiscal year, 2002-03, has been the historic high for green fees, with a $3.76 million total, versus $2.7 million expected in 2013-14. The food and beverage income was $1.51 million in the earlier year versus about $2.18 million expected this year.

Pro shop revenue jumped close to 43 percent and driving range income nearly 37 percent from 2002-03 to 2012-13, with estimated totals for 2013-14 at $655,475 for pro shop sales and $299,976 for range revenue.

Black Gold's best overall year was the pre-recessionary 2006-07, with income close to $6.6 million. Low point, deep into the recession, was 2010-11, with revenues right at $5.2 million.

Total revenue since opening Nov. 16, 2001: nearly $63 million.

Second, some 73 percent of the Placentia-Yorba Linda school district's income comes from what is often termed the “base revenue limit,” which is calculated on an “average daily attendance” that's expected to drop 126 students this year.

In round numbers, the district is expecting $141 million of an estimated $192 million total revenue to come from this state-financed formula. Although a cost-of-living adjustment is usually applied to the formula, declining enrollment impacts programs and services.

Average daily attendance has dropped from 25,112 in the 2008-09 school year to 24,567 for the coming school year and is anticipated to drop to 24,477 in 2014-15.

This year's drop in federal revenue due to “sequestration” is projected to be 5.5 per

-cent or a total expected income of nearly $9.7 million from last year's $10.9 million.

And although secondary-level class-size reductions were eliminated in 2004, maximum ratios through third grade are to remain at 24 to 1.