IN THE CITY by James F. Kaiser
So far this year the biggest blow the current economy has dealt The Forum has been the reduction to the City of revenue sharing from the state. As a department of the city we have had to adjust our budget to compensate for this loss. The Capital Improvements for 2009 have been placed on hold and may be delayed completely. The Forum was scheduled to replace its 1986 model forklift and repave the parking area, which is deteriorating rapidly. If things do not change drastically these capital improvements will have to wait for next year’s budget consideration.
A change we have noticed over the past months is that people are being more careful with their spending. We are finding that while attendance has not decreased at our events, the amount of money people are spending at the snack bar is. On the other hand, people are spending more on the less expensive items like candy; revenue has gone up from our candy machines.
To get through this transition period we are rethinking our event manning patterns, trying to do even more with less people as well as continuing our quest for cheaper and more efficient ways to accomplish our mission. We are also going the extra mile to repair an item prior to replacing it. The most important thing we are doing is looking at ways to restructure our events to make them more desirable to a broader range of people and make them more profitable. Other items include looking at different ways to sell ourselves and looking at more of the smaller events.
So far we are still basically on track through the first quarter and will make whatever changes are necessary to accomplish our goals.
James F. Kaiser is Forum Director for the city of Presque Isle. He can be reached at 764-0491 or via e-mail at theforum@mfx.net.
