On August 26, 2025, I sent an email to Jamestown’s finance director requesting a statement of golf/recreation revenue and expenditures for the fourth quarter (April-June 2025) of the fiscal year just ended, and a copy of the town’s chart of accounts (because I was unable to find those documents on the town’s website, in town minutes, packets or financial statements).
The town manager asked me to come to Town Hall for a meeting to receive the documents because the information was “best addressed in conversation to ensure clarity and context.” Attending the meeting, (Sept 3, 2025) were the finance director, town manager and grants administrator.
Below (left) is what I requested – a 4Q 2025 Golf/Recreation report with more details. On the right is the version presented at the town council meeting on July 15th – the numbers didn’t add up with the numbers discussed in the meeting agenda, and there were a few little errors (noted in red and blue). Most of the corrections are normal edits – late receipts and post-close journal entries:
But, having a corrected summary finally gave me something to compare against past performance, as you’ll see in this next spreadsheet.
Note the blank cells for the 2024 columns – this is because up until 2024, the quarterly golf summary reports to town council included revenue and expenditure details. Now, they’re shown as a budget variance instead of a monthly summary, so I only had 2023 and 2022 numbers with which to compare the current (4Q 2025) quarter:
“Supplies and Materials” is not included on the 4Q 2025 report (it averaged around $56,500 in the 2022 and 2023 quarters). Fourth quarter salaries decreased from $245,096 in 4Q 2022 to $212,051 in 4Q 2025.
The Golf and Recreation/Parks divisions were combined in 2024, so some of this can probably be attributed to cost center adjustments – but because this is such a big portion of the town’s budget, it’s important that we see monthly financial reports for the new combined Golf/Recreation department, just like those done in the past for the Golf department.
Good fiscal oversight management includes keeping a close eye on your biggest expense categories and reporting the specifics to the taxpayers on a regular basis.
Another thing I asked about in the meeting was the $355k increase in Recreation expenditures from last year. I was told it was for a dam at the golf course, and that it is not the same thing as the $210k golf course “stormwater feature” paid for with American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds (which means it belongs in the Golf expenditures category).
I also asked about the annual Golf/Recreation salaries number for FYE June 30, 2025, but was told they won’t be available until December 31, 2025, the deadline for the town to submit its audited annual financial report to the state.
Thus, the the blank “salaries” cells on my 9-year summary spreadsheet are still blank:
If the spreadsheet doesn’t zoom on your mobile device, tap on the PDF link below:
The 2023/2022 quarterly golf reports to Town Council are in this slideshow:
ORIGINAL POST – AUG 26, 2025: Jamestown’s new combined Golf & Recreation division recorded a loss of $1,282,669 for the fiscal year ended (FYE) June 30, 2025. Losses for the Recreation half of the division increased from $540,659 to $896,739, and losses for the Golf half decreased from $504,412 to $385,930.
These numbers are from the town’s Capital Improvement Plans and financial reports, agendas and minutes on the Town of Jamestown website. The 2025 numbers are from the financial director’s analysis for FYE June 30, 2025, presented at the July 15 2025 council meeting. [NOTE: If the cell is blank, it’s because I couldn’t find the numbers anywhere on the website, nor could I find details of Golf/Recreation expenditures or salaries. I’ve requested this info from the town and will update this post when it is made available].
REORGANIZATION
Prior to 2025, golf maintenance, golf shop and parks/recreation were THREE different departments/cost centers (see image below, left). At some point last year, they were combined into ONE: golf/recreation.
The golf/recreation director’s quarterly reports to the town council over the past fiscal year have only addressed golf activity and numbers, with no mention of recreation expenditures, which grew from $573K to $928K.
The revised organizational chart debuted to citizens (below, right) as a page in the notebook given to candidates running for office in the upcoming election:
Quarterly Reports, fiscal year 2024-2025
These are the golf/recreation quarterly reports presented at town council meetings during the fiscal year July 1, 2024-June 30, 2025. “Recreation” expenditures were $928,539 and “Golf” expenditures were $1,786,586, according to the financial summary for FYE June 30 2025 (click images to enlarge):
Screenshots of the financial reports from which the numbers in the spreadsheet were taken are below (for complete documents, go to the Town of Jamestown website or use the links in the first paragraph above):
Golf Course moved into High Point congressional districts
For the 2025-2026 FY budget, $3,000,000 of our town’s budget has been appropriated for the Golf Course. The Jamestown Park and Golf Course lies within the Town of Jamestown boundaries, but it is in a separate legislative district (High Point):
