GM report highlights positive financials

(Nov. 19, 2020) General Manager John Viola on Wednesday delivered further good financial news for the current fiscal year, as well as an update on efforts to draft a budget for the next fiscal period.  

Year to date as of September, Viola said the Association is ahead of budget by $1.133 million, with both revenues ($222,000) and expenses ($911,000) favorable to budget.  

A $1.143 federal Paycheck Protection Program [PPP] loan heavily contributed to the positive financial numbers, Viola said.  

“If you would look at it, everything else nets out,” he said.  

He also credited well-managed expenses, which led to positive year-to-date numbers in Public works ($316,600), Marinas ($49,200), Finance ($43,700), Public Relations ($36,700), Police ($31,100), the Clubhouse Grille ($27,700) and the General Manager’s Office ($5,400).  

Hardest hit by the pandemic were Aquatics (-$211,500), Beach Parking (-$188,500) and Recreation and Parks (-$39,200). 

“Aquatics, obviously with the 50% [capacity] and all the restrictions they had, they did the best they can,” Viola said. “Beach Parking … that’s just a part of the COVID. Otherwise, that one we always make money on.” 

Viola provided an estimate on October financial numbers, which should be available later this week. For the month, he projected a $130,000 positive variance to budget, including revenues favorable by $20,000 and expenses favorable by $110,000.  

“It’s after October where we usually have a drain on cash and a drain on our expenses, so this [month] was actually pretty good – better than I was expecting,” Viola said.  

Departments positing positive budget variances for the month included Public Works and Maintenance ($80,000), Recreation and Parks ($31,000), Golf ($17,000) and the Clubhouse Grille ($15,000). 

“That’s money we’re going to need going forward,” he said. “We’ve put off a lot of items, but we are looking at that and certainly looking at ways to save money.” 

On the proposed fiscal 2021-2022 budget, Viola said every department head will be involved in their budget and use a “bottoms up approach,” based on guidance from the Budget and Finance Committee. 

The committee will get a draft of the budget on Dec. 18 and is scheduled to review the draft on Jan. 6-8. 

Board budget work sessions are set for Jan. 19-20, and Viola will publish the recommended budget on Jan. 29. 

An initial Board hearing is scheduled on Feb. 6, followed by a final hearing and formal budget adoption on Feb. 20.  

“I can tell you the team is fully engaged [and] on track – if anything ahead of last year,” Viola said.  

Viola said the Northstar software implementation is still ongoing, currently over budget by about $48,000. The original budget was $400,000 and Viola attributed the overage to outside consulting fees.  

“All the increase to the budget happened with the outside consultant,” he said. “Any system we put in would need a high degree of customization. We are certainly seeing that, and that obviously affects it.” 

He said there was about six months to a year of additional work to do, and that it is crucial for front-end users, departments, and amenities to embrace Northstar.  

“I just need all the other amenities and everybody to embrace this system in order for it to be successful,” he said. “It will take more time … [and] that’s not uncommon, as far as I’m concerned, with a system like this.” 

Viola also took a moment to highlight recent improvements at the Racquet Sports amenity, including concrete replacement, new lighting, repaired and replaced bathroom fixtures, and repaired fence and wind screens for platform tennis courts. A dedicated employee from Public Works is also assisting at the racquet sports center.  

“We’ve done a lot of work … [and] there is a lot of good stuff going on there,” Viola said.  

To view a video of the meeting, visit https://youtu.be/nakRsw-IHLA.