ATHABASCA — The Athabasca Regional Multiplex Society (ARMS) approved the operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year with increases to revenue-generating rates to compensate for a $1.8 million deficit, pending approval from the Town of Athabasca and Athabasca County.
During the Oct. 16 board meeting, ARMS directors voted in favour of approving the draft operating budget as presented, pending approval of the requested requisition amounts from member municipalities.
The 2024 draft budget includes a three per cent increase to membership rates; a three per cent increase in facility rental rates; and a 10 per cent increase to rates for in-house advertising, as well as $940,000 requisitions from the county and the town.
“I wish it was less, but that facility, now with the pool being added onto it and the sports field, and you combine the theatre with that, that’s the whole reason for the deficit,” said director and mayor Rob Balay. “You gotta pay for that … and I see it as an investment.”
Membership rate increases will affect individual and family membership prices, as well as drop-in activity fees effective Jan. 1, 2024. Increases to both facility rental rates and advertising rates will come into effect April 1, 2024. Multiplex general manager Rhonda Alix said the approved increases are a response to rising costs across the board.
“Utility costs continue to increase for everyone. Parts and labor costs to stay on top of the repairs and maintenance of the facilities continue to rise. As well as basic cost-of-living increases for staff and higher insurance rates are all expenses that need to be balanced out with the revenue the Multiplex generates,” said Alix in an Oct. 20 email.
A $1.87 million deficit has been forecasted for the upcoming fiscal year, with a projection of $668,000 in expenses for natural gas and electricity. Utilities are the facility’s biggest costs, apart from staff salaries at $1.4 million, and contributions to Local Authorities Pension Plan, Canada Pension Plan, and the Workers Compensation Board which total just over $300,000.
The cost of supplies has more than doubled, with a projected total of about $153,000, up from less than $64,000 in 2023. A total of $135,000 has been slated for equipment repairs and maintenance, and another $88,000 for building repairs.
In comparison, the facility’s largest source of revenue is membership fees, clocking in at just under $512,000 with the approved three per cent increase.
ARMS chair Ashtin Anderson said since joining the board in late 2021, her eyes have been opened to the realities of managing the facility, especially as it nears 20 years in operation.
“The Athabasca Regional Multiplex is not immune to the inflationary costs that everyone is currently experiencing,” said Anderson in an Oct. 23 email.
“The ARMS board has increased the rates & fees for the facility users to try to cover some of the additional costs to operate the facility and limit the amount of increase to the requisitions.”
Anderson also highlighted ARMS efforts to increase the facility’s energy efficiency, noting collaboration with the former Municipal Energy Manager, and an application to the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings grant program for a potential solar panel and lighting project. The grant application was submitted in February 2023, and while no word on funding has been received, Anderson said “We are hopeful that a response will be received in the near future so we can pursue these improvements.”
“A community of our size has to make choices … we spend a bigger portion than (the multiplex requisition) on our roads and the level of service that we create,” said Balay.
The approval comes one week before Athabasca County’s budget submission deadline set during the first budget and finance meeting Aug. 22 in order to give councillors ample time to review municipality and organizational budget asks.
Athabasca County’s next budget and finance meeting is scheduled for Nov. 2, and town council will be discussing the requisition during upcoming budget deliberations.
Capital budget deferred for amendments
The 2024 draft capital budget was deferred for further amendments after directors discussed focusing the upcoming years’ project priority list with an initial estimated $875,000 price tag.
A motion to direct administration to revise the capital budget as discussed was carried unanimously, and a second motion to research the society’s capability for borrowing from either the town or the county was also passed.
Projects identified as tentative priorities for the year include replacement curtains and an exterior paint job for the Nancy Appleby Theatre, a curling rink dehumidification unit, and approximately $10,000 slated for the installation of automatic door openers to increase the facility’s accessibility.
Directors asked for more information on projects that didn’t make the cut, such as a new tractor with snow and grass implements, and an electric Zamboni.
The reassessed priority list clocked in at approximately $820,000, or around $410,000 per municipality, not including potential funding from the provincial Community Facility Enhancement Program. The revised capital budget will be reviewed at an upcoming ARMS meeting for approval.
