PHOTO FROM YOUTUBE
Assistant Treasurer Gene Ringsdorf discusses six-month budget projections during an Ocean Pines Association Board meeting , last Saturday.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Dec. 6, 2018) Early reports from fiscal year 2019 suggest Ocean Pines finances are headed toward a significant turnaround.

While fiscal year 2018 budget numbers finished in the red to the tune of more than $1 million, the first six months of fiscal 2019 reportedly finished more than $100,000 in the black.

Assistant Treasurer Gene Ringsdorf, delivering the treasurer’s report during a regular board meeting on Saturday, said for the six-month period ending on Oct. 31, revenues were over expenses by $118,000.

He said about $232,000 in unfavorable variances from the fiscal 2019 budget were offset by $378,000 worth of positive variances.

Areas posting positive budget variances included the yacht club ($120,000), police/fire ($90,000), beach club parking ($49,000), finance ($32,000), marinas ($27,000), recreation and parks ($19,000), golf ($19,000), beach club ($17,000) and racquet sports ($5,000).

Ringsdorf said yacht club revenues were $317,000 over budget, while expenses were over by $197,000.

The police and fire departments, he said, were favorable in part because a staffing position has yet to be filled. He said police wages were about $58,000 under budget “and I’m assuming that’s still related to the open position.” The fire department operating budget was $17,000 under budget, Ringsdorf added.

At the beach club, he said, revenues were $37,000 over budget and expenses were $12,000 under budget, yielding the large overall positive variance. Ringsdorf said the positive variance in finance were primarily because of lower-than-expected wages.

Looking ahead to the end of the fiscal period, he said the association was currently projecting a net $9,000 loss for the year, with a $2,000 positive variance to budget across all departments offset by an $11,000 overage in new capital additions.

Aquatics (negative $29,000) and the yacht club (negative $13,000) were both projected to finish in the red, while golf, golf maintenance, the Tern Grille, beach club, beach club parking, and marinas looked to finish above budgeted numbers.

Ringsdorf, admittedly a fan of wordplay, cautioned there were no “prophets” in Ocean Pines.

“Keep in mind the limitations that we all understand in trying to produce a forecast – and this is the first one,” he said. “It’ll be redone for the next few months to help the board and management manage your association.”