The financial state of the RSF Association

By Bill Beckman, Association president

At the midpoint of our fiscal year, I am pleased to report that the Association remains very sound. At our Jan. 21 meeting, the board received a comprehensive report from our financial officer, Steve Comstock, and we appear to be on target for a surplus in the General Services account of approximately $500,000 by the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2010. In short, we are doing better than budget.
It is no surprise that the current economic downturn is impacting everyone and the Association is no exception. Delinquencies in payment of fees are up and overall revenues are down, especially for discretionary revenue at the Tennis and Golf Clubs. To remain on budget and to control expenses has been no small task. The positive results so far are directly attributable to strong financial oversight by the Finance Committees and management at the Association, Golf Club and Tennis Club, and by Steve Comstock and the accounting staff. Thank you all for your diligent efforts!
A year ago an area of concern for the Association board was the potential impact on the Golf Club of the economic downturn.
However, based upon numbers as of Dec. 31, the Golf Club has exceeded projections and continues to look very good. Thanks to conservative planning and preemptive action by the Golf Club, the net operating income, not including enrollment fees and depreciation, is positive $251,294 for the first six months of the fiscal year.
Added to $375,000 in enrollment fees the Golf Club received during the same six months, it has realized a positive cash flow of over $600,000 so far. The Golf Club also had three new members join in January, pushing the total of enrollment fees to $525,000 for the fiscal year so far, $225,000 in excess of the total amount budgeted for 2009-10.
It is anyone’s guess regarding when we will see a sustainable upturn in the economy. I personally believe that it will be another two years before we start to experience what feels like a real upturn. In the meantime, I am confident that the Association has a firm grip on all aspects of our operations and is prepared to respond to whatever is in store for us.