2015-09-15 Infrastructure and Services Committee Att 1 to Item 4 The J Business Plan 2015-18

Our Finances
The table below presents summary budget information and projections for the plan period.

                                       2014-15        2015-16        2016-17         2017-18
                                        actuals        budget       projected       projected

Revenue                                  $460,176       $466,625      $513,287*      $564,616*
Total expenditure (incl
depreciation and internal charges)     $1,202,430     $1,195,304
Net operating cost (excl
depreciation and internal charges)       $273,585       $258,605      $248,204*      $234,950*
*assumes 10% increase in revenue per year from 2015-16 onwards; 5% increase in direct costs

De-amalgamation makes it difficult to examine historical financial performance in terms of
reported costs. However it appears that the net cost to Council of operating The J has not
increased in recent years – in 2011-12 it was $372,000 for example.

The Service Review includes a comprehensive analysis of the need for ongoing subsidy from Council
for The J, and establishes that the current subsidy levels are low compared with similar venues in
other jurisdictions. However utilisation benchmarking suggests that value for money could be
improved through increases in activity in The J.

Revenue
Opportunities to increase revenue have been discussed in other sections of this plan, and include:
    restructure of fees
    improved marketing
    increasing audience numbers for entrepreneured / shared risk and ticketed events
    increasing venue hire usage
    increasing the quantum and proportion of commercial-rate hires to balance hires at
      discounted rates.

Costs
While the planning process did not include a thorough analysis of cost structures, it appears there is
limited scope to reduce costs further without endangering the potential to grow revenue and
improve outcomes. The potential changes to the Certified Agreement may bring some potential
savings in staffing costs but this is unknown as yet.

There is some potential to grow revenue without increasing costs, for example by improving
utilisation during hours the venue is already staffed. Beyond that, careful management is required
to grow revenue in profitable ways, for example by ensuring quotes for price negotiations include
all additional costs.




The J Business Plan 2015-2018                                                               30