Town Hall board wants bigger restaurant profit

Press, 19 February 1986, Page 8

Town Hall board wants bigger restaurant profit

Christchurch local bodies will not know until March how much they will be expected to pay towards the Christchurch Town Hall this year.

The Town Hall board of management yesterday adjourned its budget meeting until March 18 to seek more information on whether the Town Hall Restaurant can boost its income. The board’s executive on February 11 considered a draft budget requiring a 51.8 per cent increase in payments from the six contributing councils. The executive instructed the Town Hall management to revise the budget so the board did not have to consider an increase above 25 per cent.

The draft budget was reduced by $254,624 before being put to the board yesterday.

The executive had also asked restaurant staff to increase profits $25,000. Board members yesterday were not sure if the increase was possible. They

agreed to adjourn considering the budget until the matter could be studied more closely. Final figures on expected spending and the size of local body payments will not be known until the March meeting.

Board members said the-25 per cent increase in council payments allowed for in the revised budget was too high.

nuagei was 100 nign. The Town Hall manager, Mr Ray Sleeman, warned against trimming too much from the budget.

Most areas had already been cut to the minimum. To put off too much spending this year would “build a too high a wall to climb over next year.” He also said that revenue for the Town Hall could be reduced if some spending was cut too far. The board decided for the second year to postpone buying computer equipment. The budget originally allowed for $25,000 to be spent this year on a computer sys-

tern, and $70,000 more would have been spent over the next two years. The revised budget allowed for $13,000 to be spent on computers this year.

Mr Rex Lester said he could not approve the expenditure because of the lack of a report on what the $13,000 would buy. He successfully moved that no computer equipment be bought this year. Spending on marketing and promotion of the Town Hall was also cut by the board.

The revised budget had allowed for $52,000 to be spent promoting the Town Hall and its facilities. That figure had been trimmed from $67,000.

Mr Lester said the figure should be pruned to $25,000. Much of the promotion was aimed at the wrong market. The board’s chairman, Sir Hamish Hay, said the cut to $25,000 for marketing was too drastic, and suggested a cut of $lO,OOO. Other organisations, such as the Canterbury Pro-

motion Council, would be able to promote the Town Hall, he said.

Mr Sleeman said that a $25,000 budget for marketing would lose the Town Hall its position as a conference venue. Income estimates also would have to be cut. ‘ The amount was reduced to $40,000. Plans to install video equipment were challenged by some board members; $32,000 has been set aside to buy the equipment.

Mr Sleeman said that some people had chosen not to hold functions at the Town Hall because it lacked video equipment. Others had hired equipment from Wellington. The planned equipment would include a big screen for use in the auditorium, and smaller screens for rooms such as the Conference Room. The equipment would be hired to users of the Town

Hall and might be hired for functions elsewhere.

The board agreed to buy the equipment.