Baltimore County Council scrapped $6.6M for a golf course clubhouse. Then the money came back.

A year ago, the Baltimore County Council rejected $6.6 million in funding for a planned golf course clubhouse renovation, calling the expenditure inappropriate.

But the money for the Rocky Point Golf Course’s clubhouse in Essex never actually left the budget, even though the seven-member body had unanimously agreed it should. Instead, the council cut $6.6 million in other funds.

The golf course clubhouse project raised eyebrows two years ago because the county’s golf courses have always been self-funded. They fall under an agency called the Baltimore County Revenue Authority, which has about $18 million in assets and the authority to issue its own bonds.

The agency, which owns and manages five golf courses, seven parking garages and a sports complex, is generally self-sustaining and “does not directly receive appropriations from general purpose units of government,” according to its website.

Councilman Todd Crandell, a Republican representing the golf course’s district, has been critical of the project since it was proposed, particularly because the clubhouse includes a “grill room” that would be financed by the county.

“Even though the council signaled very clearly — unanimously — that Baltimore County should not fund a restaurant at a golf course for the Revenue Authority, the administration moved forward and gave them the money anyway,” Crandell said at a March 31 council meeting.

The council approved funds for Rocky Point in the 2025 budget, but cut them in this year’s spending plan.

County Budget Director Kevin Reed took $5.6 million from building maintenance and $1 million for parking subsidies to pay for Rocky Point.

Crandell called the county’s relationship with the Revenue Authority “antiquated” and said it didn’t stand up to scrutiny.

“They’re supposed to be stand-alone, but they’re not stand-alone,” Crandell said, “because they keep coming to county government for money, even though they have millions of dollars in the bank.”

Council Chair Mike Ertel, a Towson Democrat, said last May that the council had “concern over spending tax dollars to fund an amenity we believe should be paid for by the Revenue Authority itself.” That was especially true, he said, because funds were tight, especially for teachers, and the school system had to make cuts.

The Revenue Authority is supposed to pay the county a percentage of its profits from the golf courses, according to county code. Although the agency has never honored that 1997 agreement, Reed said “we’re not talking about large sums of money” that the county has foregone.

Reed told the council in March that the county had “heard the council loud and clear” about future appropriations to the Revenue Authority. But, he said, the county had to honor its commitments in the Rocky Point case.

Revenue Authority Executive Director Ken Mills said work on the golf course has already begun. In the future, he said, the agency will issue bonds to pay for capital projects per the original setup.

Rocky Point’s clubhouse was a pet project of former County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., who said in 2024 that the county “put up enough money to make the numbers work.” Robert Romadka, a friend of Olszewski’s family, was an east side philanthropist who brokered the deal to sell the farms that comprise Rocky Point in the 1950s. He approached Olszewski shortly after his election about renovating the clubhouse.

East side residents have criticized the project because they worry the county-funded grill room will compete with local restaurants. They’re also upset that the county agreed the Revenue Authority could pay a one-time fee of $28,000 instead of treating stormwater, one of the major pollutants in the Chesapeake Bay.

Councilman Izzy Patoka criticized the budget process. The Democrat said the council clearly communicated to county officials that they did not want Rocky Point funded, and they were ignored.

“We have one designated role in the charter, and that is to cut,” he said. “And when we did exercise our will, there seemed to be an end run around it.”