The operating debt of the city-owned ShoWare Center is going away for now.
The Kent City Council unanimously approved on Tuesday night a payment of $1.5 million out of the city’s general fund budget to eliminate the arena’s operating debt built up since it opened in 2009. With an earlier payment of $1.2 million, the council has paid off the $2.7 million debt.
Extra tax revenue boosted the city’s 2014 general fund budget to $79.8 million, $3.4 million over budget. Sales tax revenue came in nearly $2.2 million higher than projected.
City staff also cut expenses by $1.3 million, saving enough money to put the general fund reserves at $7.8 million or 10.1 percent of the overall budget even with the ShoWare Center debt payment. The city also keeps another $1.5 million in reserve for unanticipated costs.
“During budget deliberations in November we discussed the idea of using general fund savings to pay off our internal ShoWare operating fund debt,” said City Finance Director Aaron BeMiller prior to the council vote. “We were able to do that without going below the 10 percent (reserves) threshold that council has set and we have the funds available to make that transfer.”
The arena has lost money each year, including a high of $752,324 in 2014, pushing the overall debt to more than $3.2 million. The council has reduced some of that debt by setting aside $500,000 in the general fund budget to cover the ShoWare Center’s losses.
City officials built the $84.5 million arena in anticipation that the center would make money. But city and arena staff have yet to figure out how to make the facility profitable.
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