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Recreation Commission Meeting October 6, 2003 the money if the jobs aren’t done. Mr. Gareau stated that projects start out as one project and end up as something entirely different. For example, first $60,000 was going to be a dump truck, then it was going to be a new sign, then ultimately became an electrical panel that blew up and had to be fixed. Had the dump truck been bought in the Spring, the money for the panel would have been found somewhere else. Mr. Baxter asked if money could be moved among line items. Mr. Jesse said that yes, there are line item transfers. Mr. Gareau said that Council approval is not needed between line items. Mr. Jesse said that this speaks to the budget process. After diligence figuring the line items, it’s prudent to spend the money. Mr. Gareau noted that yes, this process is much better than, at the end of the year, the Rec Center dipping into the General Fund for money, and criticism among constituents arise because they feel the money could be better spent elsewhere. Ms. Hayes asked if there were any more questions with regard to the Financial Reports. Mr. Kelley asked about Workers’ Compensation. Does the City have a program where the employees go through safety training, which Mr. Kelley knows lowers the worker’s compensation rates? Mr. Jesse said there would be a resultant 20% less in workers’ compensation rates if the City puts in a drug policy. There are other opportunities for savings. The Director of Personnel, Cheryl Farver, has been very aggressive regarding this in 2003 and, next year, if there is any opportunity for savings related to a program, she will put it in place. Mr. Gareau stated that some of the workers’ comp issues fall within the Collective Bargaining Agreement. It will take some time to get them in place. Twenty percent equals $60,000 in savings on the premium, and it is something the City is aggressively pursuing. Income Mr. DiSalvo then commented on the August 2003 Year-to-Date Income Statement. The Ice Rink and Concession obviously show glaring depreciation since 2002. The Rink shows about (78,000) and Concession (27,000) behind. On the second page, month to month, in January alone, the Rec was off (11000); moving to February (6000), etc. The total year-to-date is almost (79000). Ice Rink (48,000) is accounted for as year to date rink revenue, categorized in groups. In 2002, Dangerous Curves rented ice for about $1,200, but all groups show reasons for not using North Olmsted Rec Center ice. These groups either never came back or left for the Strongsville rink. The remaining (30,000) is basically lost revenue through lack of rink usage and ice rental. Without full Friday Night Skates, the numbers automatically become lower. In addition, the Rec’s learn to skate totals are on a steady decline. The skates are in five week sessions but run in two years. The number of students show Fall of ’02 through Winter of ’03, the variance column showing –1, -80, -80, -122, -91 and for the Fall of ’03, the Rec is down 14. Judging from last year, the enrollment is going down. An observation again was made that the reason is the Strongsville Page 3