The financial woes for the Port Moody Arts Centre (PMAC) have taken another turn for the worse.
Last month, the board of directors for the non-profit organization terminated the contract of its executive director, Stephen Torrence.
And it also cut the salary and hours of its three full-time staff: gallery manager Janice Cotter, program manager Stefani Klaric and operations manager Lois Sharpe.
Torrence was hired last July to replace Bruce Campbell, who was also let go by the board because of financial turmoil at the centre, which two years ago expanded to include a heritage house for additional programming.
Today (Thursday), board president Valerie Simons told The Tri-City News the volunteer board had hoped to move its books into the black "but some other things have happened. We've had to make some serious readjustments in staffing and reorganization."
While Simons was not able to provide specifics of its cash-flow crisis, she said the loss of gaming grants to support operations has been a major factor.
As PMAC is partially funded by the municipality, which brands itself as The City of the Arts, provincial staff have deemed the arts hub ineligible for operations cash because of its civic agreement.
(Calls to Mayor Mike Clay and Coun. Barbara Junker, PMAC's council liaison, were not immediately returned by The Tri-City News' print deadline; however, Simons said both are aware of the situation.)
"For any not-for-profit, operating funds are the most difficult to obtain so that was a big hit," Simons said, "and, over several years, that has put us behind and we have struggled to keep up."
Other anticipated funding also didn't materialize, which added to the financial stress, she said.
According to its audited financial statements — the latest numbers posted on PMAC's website — 2015 ended with $301,924 in assets and $73,840 in liabilities (compared with $206,072 in liabilities in 2014).
It took in $792,747 in revenues last year including $402,860 in program fees and another $200,249 in city fees for services; however, it also posted $807,266 in expenses with wages being the biggest bill at $293,686 — a deficit of $14,519 (compared with $102,504 in 2014).
The annual report also listed its 2016 operating budget, showing $838,000 in anticipated income and $829,000 in expected expenses.
Simons told The Tri-City News that despite the financial pressures, no programs have been cut and all instructor contracts remain in place. And the board hopes to return the three staff positions to their full pay and hours. "We are doing whatever we can to get them back to full time," she said.
As well, PMAC has secured enough sponsorship to proceed with its Girls Night Out next month as well as another big fundraiser set for February.
Simons praised the board members, most of whom are new to the organization as of June. "This was a difficult place to go," Simons said of the recent cutbacks. "It was a difficult decision for the board to make. We never want to make those kinds of things… but I'm so lucky to have these people. They are very supportive."
She added, "I can assure you the board is looking at moving forward so that we're in a much more solid financial position. We certainly can't go on like this."
