SUPPORTS ITEM NO. 5
CS&B COMMITTEE AGENDA
OCTOBER 10, 1996
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: September 26, 1996
TO: Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets
FROM: General Manager of Parks and Recreation
SUBJECT: 1997 Roundhouse Operating Budget
RECOMMENDATION
THAT Council approve a 1997 Roundhouse operating budget with a
$225,900 reduction as described in this report.
COUNCIL POLICY
In August 1996, Council approved a $1,252,000 Roundhouse operating
budget, subject to an initial reduction based on reduced operating
hours.
BACKGROUND
On August 1, 1996, City Council approved the annual operating budget
for the Roundhouse in the amount of $1,252,000, and directed "...the
City Manager to meet with the General Manager of Parks and Recreation
to develop an initial operating budget based on reduced hours, with a
program to phase in to the full budget of $1,252,000 over a period
corresponding to the full development and occupancy of the area". The
following report recommends a reduced budget based on a seventy-two
(72) hour base operating week for 1997, and provides a rationale.
DISCUSSION
The budget has been reduced in the following areas:
Salaries (3 positions) $112,300
Auxiliary staff 24,700
Program contracts 14,000
Janitorial 30,000
Building maintenance 32,400
Janitorial supplies 12,500
$225,900
The Council approved annual operating budget is based on 102 hours of
operation per week. In order to reduce the hours of operation as
required by Council in the initial year, staff made assumptions about
preferred times for programming, and recommends a base week of
operation of seventy-two (72) hours:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday to Friday: 8:30 AM to 10:30 PM (14 hours daily,
56 hours weekly)
Saturday: 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM ( 9 hours daily
and weekly)
Sunday: 10:30 AM to 5:30 PM ( 7 hours daily
and weekly)
During the first and last half-hour of operation each day the centre
will be closed to the public to permit staff the time necessary to
open and close the facility. During closures the gymnasium and
cultural centre wings can still be made available on a cost recovery
or rental basis, since these areas can be isolated from the main
centre and used independently.
As a result of reduced hours, savings can be obtained by a smaller
regular full-time staff, which has been reduced from ten positions to
seven. The positions of Operations Manager, one Recreation Facility
Clerk, and one recreational clerk typist are not being filled at this
time. Auxiliary staff and vacation relief have also been reduced.
Maintenance costs have been reduced substantially in the first year,
since the building is still new. It is important to note that the
bulk of janitorial maintenance savings come from shutting the centre
for one entire day (Monday), since there are only marginal differences
between the maintenance require-ments of a full fourteen hour day and
an eight hour one.
Arts programming costs have been reduced, but have been kept at a
level that reflects the intent of the Roundhouse to program actively
as opposed to operating as a rental facility. It also reflects the
intense interest shown thus far in the Roundhouse by a large number of
arts groups, from the local neighbourhood and across the city, who
will experience considerable frustra-tion if the centre cannot provide
levels of support found at other public cultural facilities.
The total recommended reduction in the budget is $225,900, or 18% of
the total approved operating costs. Please see Appendix A for a
breakdown of the budget figures. Additional savings cannot be
obtained without a further significant reduction in operating hours
(such as remaining closed for another full day) and in program breadth
since most core operational costs -- salaries, heating and air
conditioning, maintenance, utilities -- remain fixed despite minor
variations in hours and programs.
CONCLUSION
This report has tried to balance a realistic minimum level of service
with cost and operational factors for the first year of operation.
Staff believe the recommended level will allow the centre, at a
significantly reduced initial cost, to remain a dynamic focus as the
local community expands. If the recommended budget is approved by
Council, staff will report back on operating levels as part of the
1998 budget request.
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