Simpson out as SCW golf operations manager

Scott Simpson's position as Sun City West's golf operations manager has been eliminated as part of the Recreation Center's budget-balancing plan.

"When the Golf Operations and Marketing position was created, it was designed to bolster revenues through increased marketing," said RCSCW General Manager Mike Whiting. "These efforts have not been very successful, so we will be reorganizing the division to make better use of staff. The marketing effort will be centralized in the administrative office."

Simpson's termination is effective today.

On May 28, the Recreation Centers board told Whiting that he would need to balance the 2009-10 budget by cutting  $57,725. Besides slicing Simpson's salary from the books,  Whiting has taken a $10,000 pay cut to close the budget gap.

"Layoffs are never easy and we struggled with this decision, trying to determine what would best serve residents and the Association," Whiting said.  

The Association has been cutting its budget over the last two years to deal with the increasing costs of goods, the economic downturn and drastic drop in home sales, all of which affected the bottom line for 2008-09 and projections for 2009-10, officials said.

The budget originally proposed to the board carried a $297,000 deficit. After gleaning input from the bard and community on what their priorities were and whether dues increases, cost reductions or a combination thereof was preferred, RCSCW management went back and made the final cuts announced today.