The Ocean Shores Finance Committee spent a prolonged portion of its July 30 meeting discussing the city's golf course management agreement after finance staff reported confusing monthly statements, variable management fees and city-funded operating costs.

Finance staff said they see months when the golf course reports relatively high revenue on paper while the city receives a small share of that money and still covers significant operating expenses. Committee members cited June as an example: staff said the city received $842 from the course in June despite invoices and line items the finance team considered inconsistent with the amount of revenue reported.

Committee members said the city has paid tens of thousands of dollars to the management company in operating support and that some line items in the management statements raise questions about internal controls. Staff cited examples such as a $1,500 "over short" entry, $2,000 for uniforms and management fees that have ranged from about $8,000 to $11,000 in different months. Finance staff said the city's subsidy of the course was roughly $190,000 in the prior year.

The committee described the issue as broader than bookkeeping: members questioned whether the city receives sufficient documentation for inventory and point-of-sale transactions, whether purchases are inventoried and sold properly, and whether staff training and approval controls are adequate. One finance committee member said the management company's decisions (for example, purchasing uniforms or incurring certain expenses) have sometimes left the city paying costs without sufficient oversight.

Options discussed: committee members recommended several possible next steps including (1) seeking a renegotiation of the management contract or clearer contractual approval processes for expenditures; (2) requiring more detailed monthly reports and reconciliations from the management company; (3) putting the management contract back out to bid via an RFP when the contract term allows; or (4) assigning a city staff liaison or financial reviewer to perform monthly reconciliations and approval checks.

What the committee did not do: no formal motion or vote was taken at the meeting. Members agreed that next steps should include a focused briefing for the full council and a meeting with city administration to explore contract remedies, higher levels of financial review, or reprocurement.

Ending: finance staff recommended the council's executive leadership and the city administrator be engaged to determine next steps; staff said they will prepare information and arrange a meeting to provide the council with a clearer picture of the golf course's financial relationship to the city.