Plan to Boost Annual Funding For Rochester Golf Courses by $500K

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Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The Rochester City Council could soon be asked to provide $250,000 in tax levy funding annually to support the city's golf courses.

A plan that is scheduled to be presented to the Rochester Park Board next Tuesday calls for a combination of fee increases and the proposed increases in tax dollars to provide $500,000 each year to fund capital improvement projects involving the golf courses and pay for operational expenses. $400,000 annually would be directed to paying for the improvement projects with $100,000 allocated for staffing and other operational expenses.

The proposed fee increases would boost the cost of a season pass for the four municipal golf courses by 20% next year, followed by a 14% increase in 2024, a 12% jump in 2025, and then 3% increases in both 2026 and 2027. The daily rate for a round of golf would rise 10% next year, 8% in 2024, and 3% in the following three years.

That would increase the green fees, without a golf cart, from the current $32 to $35 next year, and to just over $37 by 2027. The cost of a regular season pass would be increased by about $160 next year and by 2027 would cost nearly $1300. Currently, a regular pass for a single adult costs just under $800.

If the plan is approved, the Rochester City Council would be asked to include the $250,000 and tax levy funding in the city's 2024 budget. The presentation of the proposal to the Park Board will take place next Tuesday in a meeting that will begin at 4:30 PM in the Community Room at the Development Services and Infrastructure Center along West River Parkway Northwest.