Museum money refused

Press, 21 May 1981, Page 6

Museum money refused

Non-replacement of staff cduld occur at the Canterbury Museum because of its financial position, said Cr I. G. Clark, a Waimairi County councillor, and its representative on the Museum Trust Board, at a special meeting of the council’s finance and by-laws committee this week.

His attempt to persuade the council to make an exgratia payment of $12,000 to the museum was unsuccessful.

The council has budgeted a contribution of $106,082 to the museum for 1981-82, compared with $89,311 for the previous year. Cr Clark said that the museum had fewer custodi-

ans per square metre than any other in New Zealand. It had cut out improvement work that was not absolutely necessary. But to reduce other services would be a retrograde step, he said. Museum staff had ‘ until recently been grossly under-' paid by international standards, and even now not all were paid what they should be.

“Nobody wants to put anybody off,” he said. “I hope that it never comes about.” He hinted that it was a step that might have to be taken. The motion to secure the museum an extra $12,000 was a saving to the council because the museum had earlier requested an ex-gratia

payment of $18,200, he said. Mr D. B. Rich said that the museum’s deficit was accelerating, and that the council would be asked for still more money next year. Last year the council made an ex-gratiapayment to the museum of $6940, blit with the rider that it would not. /consider any. further grants. ///'<•. Cr Clark did not consider that a new council: should be tied down bv a,previous one. He said that the museum had considered charging, admission, but it was thought that it would cost more, especially./in wages, than it would return. Admission charges for special exhibitions were being considered.