SUPPORTS ITEM NO. 2
CS&B COMMITTEE AGENDA
JULY 24, 1997
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: July 8, 1997
CC File: 2055
TO: Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets
FROM: Director of Cultural Affairs
SUBJECT: Grants Equal to Theatre Rent: 1997/98 Season
RECOMMENDATIONS
A. THAT Council approve decreases in the base level uses of the
following organizations, to adjust for the reduction in the
Grants Equal to Theatre Rent budget approved by Council as
part of the 1997 Operating Budget Review process:
- Ballet B.C.: 1 rehearsal
- Vancouver Opera: 1 performance
- Vancouver Playhouse: 6 performances
- Vancouver Symphony: 2 performances/1 rehearsal
B. THAT Council approve rental grants to 9 organizations, not
exceeding base levels and totalling $553,970, for uses of the
Civic Theatres in Fall 1997, as listed in Table 3; source of
funds to be the 1997 Grants Equal to Theatre Rent budget.
C. THAT Council approve in principle, subject to the 1998
Operating Budget Review process, rental grants to 12
organizations, within base levels and totalling $844,225, as
listed in Table 3, for uses of the Civic Theatres in Spring
1998.
CONSIDERATION
D. THAT Council approve a one-time grant of $24,305 to the
Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company, within its base level,
toward uses of the Playhouse Theatre in Fall 1997; source of
funds to be Contingency Reserve.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS A, B, and C, and
submits D for CONSIDERATION.
COUNCIL POLICY
In 1979 and again in 1983, City Council affirmed the principle that
Grants Equal to Theatre Rent are provided to non-profit cultural
organizations that use the Civic Theatres regularly and have been
assigned annual "base level uses" of the theatres by Council (as
detailed in Appendix B).
Council approved the current process for Grants Equal to Rent on July
27, 1995. This provides for seasonally based grants allocated in July of
each year for the coming Fall (Sept. 1 to Dec. 31), and Spring (Jan. 1
to Aug. 31). Rental grant recommendations for the Spring are approved in
principle, subject to the Operating Budget Review process for the
applicable year.
Approval of grant recommendations requires eight affirmative votes.
PURPOSE
In accordance with the process Council established in 1995, this is the
second of two annual reports on Grants Equal to Theatre Rent. It makes
grant recommendations for the 1997/98 season (Fall 1997 and Spring
1998).
BACKGROUND
Budget Level
On 13 March 1997, Council approved a Grants Equal to Theatre Rent budget
of $1,436,620 for the calendar year 1997. On 27 May 1997, Council
confirmed 10 rental grant uses totalling $882,650 for Spring 1997,
leaving an unallocated balance of $553,970 in the 1997 rental grants
budget.
Council should note that the approved 1997 Grants Equal to Rent budget
included proportional decreases totalling $42,400 to four major rental
grant recipients (Table 1, following), approved in principle on 13 March
1997. In presenting the grant amounts recommended in this report, staff
have incorporated these reductions, applying them to each organization's
projected 1997/98 uses within base level.
Since the decrease will affect future budgets, adjustments in the four
organizations' base levels, approximately equal to the amount of the
cut, are also recommended. Further adjustments in base levels that may
be required as a result of changes in renters' theatre use patterns will
be reviewed and reported on in 1998, which will be three years after the
last such review.
TABLE 1
1997 Budget Base Level New
Reduction Reduction Base
Ballet BC $ 4,800 1 rehearsal 9
Vancouver Opera $ 8,000 1 performance 48
Vancouver Playhouse $11,400 6 performances 234
Vancouver Symphony $18,200 2 perf./1 reh. 105
Total $42,400
DISCUSSION
Requests
For the 1997/98 season, 12 applicants have requested rental grants
totalling $1,491,600, as summarized in Table 2, following. These
requests include 10 uses over original base levels, and a Playhouse
Theatre Company request for a $57,950 increase in its Fall 1997
allocation (over Fall 1996), within its seasonal base level. The
requested one-time increase is due to a strategic (and probably
permanent) change in the Company s production schedule, shifting one
production from the Spring to the Fall. A more detailed discussion of
the Playhouse s request and other applicants' base levels and grant
requests for 1997/98 is provided in Appendix A.
TABLE 2
1997/98 Grants Equal to Rent
Requests
Over Orig.
Fall'97 Spring'98 $ Total(Uses) Base*
Academy of Music 7,000 19,250 26,250 (4) -
Ballet B.C. 28,000 28,000 56,000 (10) -
Cantata Singers 15,750 0 15,750 (3) (3,500) 1
Coastal Jazz Soc. 0 14,000 14,000 (2) (7,000) 1
Frds. of Ch. Mus. 5,700 13,300 19,000 (10) (5,700) 3
Music in the Morn. 0 3,500 3,500 (1) -
Van. Bach Choir 25,900 20,300 46,200 (11) -
Van. Cham. Choir 21,000 10,500 31,500 (6) -
Van. Opera 112,000 168,000 280,000 (51) (10,500) 2
Van. Playhouse 190,475 174,325 364,800 (218) -
Van. Recital Soc. 21,300 12,700 34,000 (9) -
Van. Symphony 207,550 363,300 570,850 (94) -
Joint Ballet/VSO 0 29,750 29,750 (5) -
TOTAL $634,675 $856,925 $1,491,600 (424) ($26,700)
*Not including base level changes presented in Recommendation A.
Recommendations
As summarized in Table 3, following, and detailed in Appendix A, staff
recommend grants amounting to $1,398,195 for the 1997/98 season:
$553,970 for the Fall, and $844,225 for the Spring, all within the new
recommended base level uses, and including the $42,400 decreases
detailed in Table 1. Approval of the recommendations will leave no
unallocated funds in the 1997 rental grants budget.
TABLE 3
1997/98 Grants Equal to Rent
Recommendations
Elig.
Fall'97Spring'98 $ Total (Uses) Uses*
Academy of Music 7,000 19,250 26,250 (4) 4
Ballet B.C. 23,200 28,000 51,200 (9) 9
Cantata Sing.(Messiah) 12,250 0 12,250 (2) 2
Coastal Jazz Soc. 0 7,000 7,000 (1) 1
Frds. of Ch. Mus. 5,700 7,600 13,300 (7) 7
Music in the Morn. 0 3,500 3,500 (1) 1
Van. Bach Choir 25,900 20,300 46,200 (11) 11
Van. Cham. Choir 21,000 10,500 31,500 (6) 7
Van. Opera 93,500 168,000 261,500 (48) 48
Van. Playhouse Co. 154,770 174,325 329,095 (200) 234
Van. Recital Soc. 21,300 12,700 34,000 (9) 10
Van. Symphony 189,350 363,300 552,650 (91) 105
Joint Ballet/VSO* 0 29,750 29,750 (5) 5
TOTAL $553,970 $844,225 $1,398,195 (394)
* Including base level changes in Recommendation A.
Playhouse Theatre Company Request
Recognizing that the Playhouse's $364,800 request for 1997/98 is within
its seasonal base levels, and to assist with the costs of the additional
production in the Fall, staff are recommending a $22,245 increase to the
Company's Fall '97 grant over its Fall '96 allocation. This is the
amount that can be accommodated within the approved 1997 Grants Equal to
Rent budget.
In addition, staff are presenting for Council's consideration a one-time
grant of $24,305 source of funds to be Contingency Reserve. Approval
would bring the Company's total 1997/98 grant to $353,400, within base
levels, and taking into account the $11,400 proportional decrease
indicated in Table 1. A more detailed discussion is provided in Appendix
A.
CONCLUSION
The budget available for Fall 1997 has not allowed for any grant
recommendations over the base level guidelines. Approval of the Fall
1997 grant recommendations will leave no unallocated funds in the 1997
Grants Equal to Rent budget.
Since the City's budget operates on the calendar year, grants approved
for Spring 1998 will have to be reconfirmed by Council next year, after
the annual Cultural Grants budget is established, and no grants over
base level have been recommended.
* * * * *
APPENDICES A AND B are on file in the City Clerk's Office