09-08-2010, 10:58 AM
I think the mayor has the right idea if we can find a proper buyer. Nickle and dimes from employee salary and travel budgets isn't going to pay off the initial $25mil debt. The numbers just don't add up...
Genesee 'underperforming badly'
Waukegan may pull out of theater business
September 8, 2010
By DAN MORAN <!-- e --><a href="mailto:dmoran@stmedianetwork.com">dmoran@stmedianetwork.com</a><!-- e -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/2684380,5_1_WA08_GENESEE_S1-100908.article">http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/news ... 08.article</a><!-- m -->
Aldermen balked at approving a budget for the Genesee Theatre's current fiscal year Tuesday, raising concerns about such things as proposed raises for theater employees and travel expenses.
"I think we've got to do some trimming here," said 7th Ward Ald. Patrick Needham, pointing to "the sacrifices made by our employees" during the last two years as the city balanced its budget.
Mayor Robert Sabonjian went farther than that, raising the possibility that Waukegan might get out of the entertainment game.
"The Genesee Theatre is underperforming badly," Sabonjian said. "I believe the time has come to look at privatizing the operation or selling it outright ... I firmly believe the city should never have gotten into the theater business in the first place."
For now, the proposal by Genesee management for the 2010-11 fiscal year would see the facility operating in the red, with $1.029 million in expenditures offsetting $559,749 in revenues.
The spending plan calls for the city to subsidize operations, as in past years, to close the deficit. According to finance director Tina Smigielski, the city spends $930,000 annually on the Genesee, including $700,000 toward the principal and interest on the facility's $25 million redevelopment bond. The remainder goes toward operations.
During Tuesday's budget discussion before the Genesee Theatre Committee, Needham and 6th Ward Ald. Larry TenPas called for more review before the spending plan moves forward.
At one point, TenPas asked Genesee general manager Gary Zabinski if the budget called for any raises for theatre's nine full-time employees.
Told that the plan factored in raises of 2.5 percent, TenPas said, "Is there any way to reduce your staff and perform the same amount of service?"
Zabinski said his staffers are "very skilled at what they do," but he added that anything in the budget proposal is open for discussion.
"You can rest assured that I won't rest on the revenues or expenditures for one minute," Zabinski said. "Do I expect to do better? Absolutely, on both sides of the column, but we won't know until the end of the year."
When Needham asked if any revenue increases could be forecast, Zabinski said, "My gut tells me (revenue) will be about what we project, but that does not mean we'll be settling for that."
For the time being, aldermen agreed to release funds to help cover expenses from the first quarter of the current fiscal year, and Zabinski was asked to look at additional cuts to things like a proposed $8,000 travel budget.
Committee chair and 5th Ward Ald. Edith Newsome said she would meet with financial staffers from both the city and the Genesee this week "to see about bringing the budget down some more before we approve it."
Genesee 'underperforming badly'
Waukegan may pull out of theater business
September 8, 2010
By DAN MORAN <!-- e --><a href="mailto:dmoran@stmedianetwork.com">dmoran@stmedianetwork.com</a><!-- e -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/2684380,5_1_WA08_GENESEE_S1-100908.article">http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/news ... 08.article</a><!-- m -->
Aldermen balked at approving a budget for the Genesee Theatre's current fiscal year Tuesday, raising concerns about such things as proposed raises for theater employees and travel expenses.
"I think we've got to do some trimming here," said 7th Ward Ald. Patrick Needham, pointing to "the sacrifices made by our employees" during the last two years as the city balanced its budget.
Mayor Robert Sabonjian went farther than that, raising the possibility that Waukegan might get out of the entertainment game.
"The Genesee Theatre is underperforming badly," Sabonjian said. "I believe the time has come to look at privatizing the operation or selling it outright ... I firmly believe the city should never have gotten into the theater business in the first place."
For now, the proposal by Genesee management for the 2010-11 fiscal year would see the facility operating in the red, with $1.029 million in expenditures offsetting $559,749 in revenues.
The spending plan calls for the city to subsidize operations, as in past years, to close the deficit. According to finance director Tina Smigielski, the city spends $930,000 annually on the Genesee, including $700,000 toward the principal and interest on the facility's $25 million redevelopment bond. The remainder goes toward operations.
During Tuesday's budget discussion before the Genesee Theatre Committee, Needham and 6th Ward Ald. Larry TenPas called for more review before the spending plan moves forward.
At one point, TenPas asked Genesee general manager Gary Zabinski if the budget called for any raises for theatre's nine full-time employees.
Told that the plan factored in raises of 2.5 percent, TenPas said, "Is there any way to reduce your staff and perform the same amount of service?"
Zabinski said his staffers are "very skilled at what they do," but he added that anything in the budget proposal is open for discussion.
"You can rest assured that I won't rest on the revenues or expenditures for one minute," Zabinski said. "Do I expect to do better? Absolutely, on both sides of the column, but we won't know until the end of the year."
When Needham asked if any revenue increases could be forecast, Zabinski said, "My gut tells me (revenue) will be about what we project, but that does not mean we'll be settling for that."
For the time being, aldermen agreed to release funds to help cover expenses from the first quarter of the current fiscal year, and Zabinski was asked to look at additional cuts to things like a proposed $8,000 travel budget.
Committee chair and 5th Ward Ald. Edith Newsome said she would meet with financial staffers from both the city and the Genesee this week "to see about bringing the budget down some more before we approve it."