Sunday, January 31, 2010

Another Million Added To The Stadium Bill

The new chief executive of the Stadium (DVML) company, David Davies, has wasted no time in putting his hand out for more money from the Dunedin City Council.
In a report (pdf) to the Council, it is revealed that Dunedin Venues Management Limited is expecting $2.4 million to cover spending before the Stadium receives income. $1.5 million of this is for staff expenses. About $1.4 million of this is already budgeted for, from rates and Carisbrook Stadium Trust appropriations. About $1 million is not currently budgeted for.
DCC Finance Manager, Athol Stephens claims that not extra contribution is required from rates because the money can be found from:
  • a "subvention receipt" from Aurora Energy Limited of $0.672 million
  • a one-off dividend of $0.264 million to be transferred through DCHL
Taking this extra money from Dunedin City Holdings just means that DCHL debt will be $1 million higher than it otherwise would have been. Athol Stephens can play a shell game, and move money around between different places all he likes. But in the end, it is all ratepayers funds and affects rates.
And this extra payment raises the question:
If this extra $1 million is required for the Stadium, then why was it not included in the Carisbrook Stadium Trust projections?
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1 comment:

  1. Tat LooFebruary 2, 2010 at 9:51 PM

    The stadium absolutely has to work. So many chips have been put on that number now that it has become Dunedin's political equivalent of "too big to fail". I feel confident that extra funding will be found and given to activities associated with the stadium as and when requested, regardless of overall budget status.

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