North Salt Lake's golf fund owes $2.9 million in past subsidies, with no repayment plan

North Salt Lake's golf course fund owed the city's capital projects fund $2,921,931 at June 30, 2025, according to the city's audited financial report. The payable represents subsidies transferred to the golf fund from fiscal 1994 through 2020. The report says the city anticipates establishing a repayment schedule in a future fiscal year. ^[1]

The golf fund records the balance as a noncurrent liability due to other funds. The capital projects fund records the same amount as due from other funds. In the citywide statements, the two entries offset each other as internal balances. ^[5][9]

Fiscal 2025 results

The audited statements show the golf fund with $4,222,958 in operating revenue and $3,883,154 in operating expenses in fiscal 2025, for an operating gain of $339,804. After $213,006 in interest expense, net position rose $126,798, to $2,430,854. ^[2][3]

Management's discussion says that about $160,000 of the operating gain is recorded as a receivable for construction reimbursement from Gateway Parks, which operated the winter tubing service for the city. The report does not say whether that amount had been collected. ^[3]

In the golf fund column, unrestricted net position is negative $7,001,706. The enterprise total column reports unrestricted net position of $7,125,672 for the water, storm water, solid waste and golf funds combined. That is not the sum of the four fund columns, and the same is true of the net investment in capital assets line. The records reviewed do not explain the difference. ^[5]

Other golf debt

The golf fund also owes $657,000 on a non-interest-bearing note signed Dec. 18, 1992, with Eaglewood Development LTD. Payments are tied to cash flow and to a share of participation net income. The city's obligation to pay begins once the golf fund has accumulated $175,000 in unrestricted net position. The audit says the payment amount is not determinable and that unrestricted net position remains negative. ^[4]

Separately, $3,810,000 of Series 2021 sales tax revenue bond principal was outstanding for Eaglewood Golf Course improvements at June 30, 2025, plus unamortized premium. Those bonds run through 2051. ^[4]

What the budget shows

The city's fiscal 2027 budget presents golf finances on a different basis. Its fiscal 2025 actual column shows an operating loss of $375,300, including $1,408,700 for equipment, supplies and maintenance. The audited statement reports $308,710 in that category. ^[6][2]

The detailed budget worksheet lists fiscal 2025 capital spending of $552,266 on the clubhouse, $473,662 on machinery and equipment, and $74,013 on grounds improvements. It also lists a "close asset" entry of negative $1,099,940. The records reviewed do not include a reconciliation between the two presentations. ^[7]

For fiscal 2027, the golf budget projects an $87,040 operating income. It also lists $300,000 in proceeds from borrowing, described as a golf cart lease, and $236,000 from cart and mower trade-ins. It projects ending unrestricted cash of $623,040 and restricted cash of negative $380,016. These are budget projections, not bank balances. ^[6][7]

The capital projects fund page of the same budget lists a "Due From Golf Fund" figure of $2,921,231, which is $700 less than the audited balance. ^[8]

At the June 16, 2026 council meeting, Mayor Brian Horrocks spoke about the state of the city several years ago, including the poor financial position of the golf course, according to the minutes. ^[10]