Lago Vista golf pro to seek rate hike, taxpayers pay $170,000

The irrigation rebuild would be finished "worst case in January," he said.⁴ In the new budget year's first 27 days, he said, rounds are about 25% down. Revenue is about 35% down, he said.⁵ For 2027-28, he said he will recommend "a rate increase, minimal."⁶

He gave his report under the agenda's staff and council liaison reports item, and the committee took no vote on it.⁷ The ordinance that created the committee says it "shall act in an advisory capacity only." It advises the City Council through the city manager.⁸

Saul's figures are his own, spoken at the meeting, and we found no audit of them. Differences and sums in this story are our calculations from the cited records.

What the golf course fund is

The city's audit lists the golf course as one of its enterprise funds, next to the airport and the water and sewer utility. Enterprise funds are city accounts for services that charge customers.⁹ When the course falls short, the General Fund can cover the gap. The General Fund pays for services such as police, streets, and parks, and it is "supported by property, sales and other taxes."¹

The City Council appoints the members of the Golf Course Advisory Committee.⁸ Greg Saul is the committee's staff liaison, and Council Member Jess Hall is its council liaison.¹⁰ The city's budget years end on Sept. 30.⁹

Earlier coverage

Our Sept. 25 story, Lago Vista's golf course got $2.8 million in public subsidies, reported that the 2024-25 audit shows $909,075 in revenue. The audit also shows a $555,608 operating loss.⁹ The General Fund sent the course $380,000 that year.¹

The committee's final minutes for Feb. 3, 2026, put the irrigation finish at about 150 days, "during August."¹¹ Draft minutes for May 26 said it "should be complete mid October to early November."¹² Our Oct. 24 story, Golf course irrigation slips to Jan. 1, draft minutes say, reported that draft minutes for Sept. 22 put the finish between Dec. 1, 2026, and Jan. 1, 2027.¹⁰ This story covers what is new.

Before the meeting (February to October 2026)

On Feb. 3, 2026, the committee's final minutes record Saul saying the course should "come close to breaking even" in 2026-27. He expected it to be "in the black" for 2027-28.¹¹ The draft minutes for May 26 say the loss was "trending to come in below 200k." One year after the new irrigation is complete, Saul expects "40k+" rounds.¹²

The city's unaudited report as of June 30, 2026, shows golf revenue of $828,389.91. Spending was $983,732.68. That left the golf fund $155,342.77 short with a quarter of the year to go. The General Fund's own page shows its $400,000 transfers line with $0.00 spent through June 30.¹³ The golf transfer for 2025-26 was budgeted at $350,000.¹

In the adopted 2026-27 budget, golf spending is $1,367,414. Golf revenue is budgeted at $1,370,075, which includes the $170,000 transfer. Without the transfer, the course is budgeted to take in $1,200,075 on its own. That includes $50,000 in tournament fees, a line with $0 for 2024-25. The page's 2025-26 actual column has $973,517 in total revenue, without a date.¹

Our Oct. 24 story reported the Sept. 22 draft minutes, which put last quarter at "17% down in rounds & 14% down in revenue" and expected the first quarter to be "about the same." Those minutes also put a "New Re-Opening" in "March 2028."¹⁰

The city's September 2026 operating report, signed by Saul as head golf professional, says the course ended the year "3% up in rounds and 13% up in gross revenue." September rounds were 1,941, down 567 from September 2025.¹⁴

The Oct. 27 meeting

The committee met in a regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 27, 2026, in City Council Chambers at 5803 Thunderbird.⁷ It had set that date at its Sept. 22 meeting.¹⁰ The city certified that it posted the agenda by 5 p.m. on Oct. 20.⁷ The member leading the meeting said he would "go straight to Greg" for the city staff report.¹⁵

Year-end results (about 1:17 into the video)

Saul opened with a review of how the fiscal year ended. He said the course ended 2025-26 "hitting a million gross revenue." The city's captions and our own transcript of the video differ on the exact figure he gave, so we do not print one. He said the course was "seven 800" in the red three and a half or four years ago, which we take to mean $700,000 to $800,000. For 2025-26, he said, "we ended up 230 ish" in the red. He added, "So we've saved close to 600 grand the past three and a half years."²

For 2024-25, he said, the course "did 885,000 in gross revenue." The "million and some change was up 12%" over the year before, he said. In his words, "We ended up 3% up in rounds."² In the first nine months, he said, "every single month was up both in revenue and rounds." He credited part of that to weather, saying "we had rain all spring."¹⁶ He put rounds at 32,000, up 3%.¹⁷

Saul's figures next to the records

His September report puts the revenue gain at 13%, not the 12% he gave at the meeting.^2,14 The audit's 2024-25 revenue is $24,075 higher than the $885,000 Saul gave for that year.^2,9 Depreciation is an accounting charge that spreads the cost of buildings and equipment over their estimated useful lives. The audit's $555,608 operating loss includes $277,804 in depreciation. Without depreciation, the operating loss would have been $277,804.⁹

The goal for 2026-27 (about 5:39)

Saul said his goal for the new year was always to be "5% up over this last year in gross revenue." He projected 2027-28 as the year the course would be "close to even." After that, he said, the course "should be in the black every year," unless something happens in the economy.³

The irrigation schedule (about 7:04)

Saul said the contractor's first schedule was "150 days mid-October." He said he had been "preaching" a finish anywhere from Dec. 1 to Jan. 1. Crews were on hole 11 and "a little bit more than halfway" done, he said. A finish before Christmas would be "a miracle," he said. He is "thinking more towards January." Par fives take longer, and it "takes a week to complete a hole," he said.⁴

The first 27 days of 2026-27 (about 9:02)

Saul said he is "about 25% down in rounds and about 35% down in revenue."⁵ Those drops are larger than the ones the Sept. 22 draft minutes described for the quarter before.^5,10 He blamed July through September, saying "we were browned out." He said the course went without "water for three months."⁵

He said the first quarter will be down "quite a bit" and the second may be "close to even." The third quarter "should be up" from last year's, he said. He expects the fourth quarter to "blow this fourth quarter away," which we read as a reference to the weak quarter that ended in September. He asked whether that would put him 5% up for the year and answered, "Maybe. Maybe not."⁵

The 2027-28 plan (about 10:54)

The city's Capital Improvement Program (CIP) addresses its "infrastructure and long-term capital needs."¹ Saul said he will send "a couple or a few CIP projects" to the council. He said he will "highly recommend" a minimal rate increase. The increase, he said, would bring the course "up to par with our competition." He named Hidden Falls and Marble Falls as the comparison.⁶

He said his projections assume rounds "around 40,000," up from 32,000 now. With that, he said, "that'll get us close to even." Going forward, he said, the course "definitely should be" in the black.⁶ In February, the minutes record him expecting the course to "come close to breaking even" in 2026-27, and on Oct. 27 he placed "close to even" in 2027-28.^6,11

The General Fund and "alternatives" (about 11:43)

Saul said budgets "can always be amended" and that he would "definitely amend" the revenues. He said he has "170 from the General Fund." Without the project, he said, he would have come in "around a couple hundred." The council is also looking at alternatives to "fund or help the course" instead of the General Fund, he said.¹⁸

Bringing golfers back (about 21:20)

Saul said he will send an "email blast" to his database when the work is "a month away" from done. In sample wording for that email, he gave a finish date of "January 15th, whatever that may be." A later letter would probably include a "one time $10 off regular rate" offer.¹⁹

Tournaments, parking, and carts (about 23:31 to 27:31)

Saul said "no tournaments have booked for this year." He said some have "booked for 27" and that he has had "maybe 2 or 3 inquiries." He said he is "not ready to host and book tournaments yet."²⁰ That compares with the $50,000 in tournament fees the 2026-27 budget counts on.^1,20

One of his CIP projects, he said, would keep tournaments from having to "go pay a rental fee" elsewhere. He said a joint plan for tournament space "will be presented to council" as a CIP project for next year.²⁰ The parking lot needs only "painted asphalt on top," curbs, and repaired stripes, he said. He extended the golf cart lease "a year this year." The course should now "be paying on new carts," he said. He said he put off new golf carts until what the captions show as "27, 28," which we read as the 2027-28 budget year.²¹

He said, "March 28th is when I see the grand opening, the re grand opening," around Masters time.²¹ The captions read "March 28th," which could mean March 2028, the date in the Sept. 22 draft minutes.^10,21 He said he is not on the council and "can't wave my wand."²¹

Mondays (about 34:15)

Saul was asked how much closer the course would have been if it had been open on Mondays. Saul said he always says the course is "the only municipal golf course in the US that's not open on Monday." He said he will propose, "let's open every other Monday." He would "start out soft" and stay closed "two Mondays out of the month." He said Monday openings would have brought "a little bit more" last year.²²

Council Member Hall on effluent costs (about 1:14:36)

Later, in the council liaison report, Council Member Jess Hall spoke about the course and "our investment."²³ Effluent is treated wastewater. The city's 2015-16 budget book called the course "an effluent application site" that is part of the city's "wastewater treatment program."²⁴ Hall said there is "the opportunity" in the budget to apply more of the course's costs to effluent disposal. He said the course is being charged for effluent disposal, which he said "really is part of our" water and sewer systems.²³

The city's 2015-16 budget book used "a transfer from the Utility Fund instead of the General Fund" to support golf operations. That book said "The Effluent Disposal Budget is in the Utility Fund."²⁴

What it could mean for taxpayers

The $170,000 subsidy is less than the $380,000 the General Fund sent in 2024-25. It is also less than the $800,000 sent the year before that. If course revenue falls short of the $1,200,075 the budget counts on, the gap could grow unless spending falls or more money comes in.¹ The records we reviewed do not say whether Saul's "couple hundred grand" counts depreciation or the subsidy.³

A rate increase would be paid by the golfers who use the course, not from taxes, because golf rates are user fees. The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), a group of public finance officers, defines user fees as "fees that are charged in exchange for providing a service." It says some user fees "may target a market competitive rate." It also recommends that governments "clearly state why the organization is charging a fee (and not funding the service through other methods)."²⁵ Saul tied reaching "close to even" in 2027-28 to both the rate increase and the number of rounds.⁶

The committee has no power to "authorize any expenditures out of the City's budget."⁸ If the city did what Hall described, effluent costs now charged to golf would be charged to the water and sewer system instead.²³ Most of the Utility Fund's income comes from water and sewer charges, which were $5,504,378 and $3,964,112 in 2024-25. That could lower the General Fund's share while raising the share paid from water and sewer charges.⁹

Where it stands

The committee also voted that evening on the irrigation main line, which we cover in a separate story. That motion passed on a voice vote with one member voting no. The committee then approved the Sept. 22 minutes on a voice vote, and no member was heard voting no. The video does not make clear who moved or seconded either motion.²⁶

The committee put off its work plan item.²⁶ Its next regular meeting will be in January, and members named Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2027.²⁷

The ordinance calls for the committee to report to the City Council on the status of the golf courses in December and June. It says the committee must meet "at least once every two months."⁸

What we could not find

• Audited 2025-26 results. The latest golf audit we reviewed covers the year ended Sept. 30, 2025, so Saul's 2025-26 figures are his own.⁹
• How Saul counts "in the red." The records we reviewed do not say whether his $230,000 includes depreciation or a General Fund transfer.²
• A 2025-26 General Fund transfer. The budget book's 2025-26 actual column shows $0 for the transfer from the General Fund, with no date.¹
• The September report's total. The report lists $70,246.89 in gross revenue. The seven revenue lines under it add up to $56,413.24. The report does not say why.¹⁴
• The exact year-end revenue figure. Saul said a figure, but the city's captions and our transcript differ.²
• Prices. We found no price for the tournament space, parking lot, new golf carts, or rate changes in the records we reviewed.²¹
• The council's "alternatives." We found no record that names the options Saul said the council is considering.¹⁸
• A Hall proposal. We found no record of an amount or plan to move effluent costs to the Utility Fund.²³
• Proof of the Monday claim. We could not confirm that this is "the only municipal golf course in the US that's not open on Monday."²²

What you can do

• Ask the city for the course's monthly reports, its 2025-26 year-end figures, and any 2025-26 General Fund transfer through its open records request page.²⁸
• Speak at a committee meeting by submitting the online citizen participation form before the meeting starts.⁷
• Watch council budget agendas for golf amendments, since Saul said he would "definitely amend" the revenues.¹⁸
• Write to the City Council, which the budget book lists as Mayor Shane Saum, Mayor Pro Tem Norma Owen, Adam Benefield, Paul Prince, Amanda Chavarria, Karen Van Ness, and Jess Hall.¹
• Send us records or tips at /share-records.