Item - 2019.EP8.8

The Board of Governors of Exhibition Place:

1.  Approved the revised 2020 Operating Budget as per Schedule 1 on page 3 of the report (November 28, 2019) from the Chief Executive Officer, Exhibition Place.

2.  Directed the Chief Executive Officer, Exhibition Place to submit the revised 2020 Budget to the City Financial Planning Division as part of the 2020 Budget Process.

At its meeting of June 13, 2019 the Board approved without amendment the 2020 Operating Budget surplus of $175,000 an increase of $15,000 or 9 percent over 2019. At that time the City was undergoing a budget modernisation process and the City Manager had not provided the 2020 Budget Process, Directions and Guidelines yet to City Divisions and Agencies for its 2020 submissions. 

In November 2019 the City Manager issued the budget process and guidelines to all City Divisions and Agencies. The City Manager request to Exhibition Place for 2020 was to prepare an operating budget that better align with our actual historical performance. Previously, as directed by the City the Exhibition Place operating budget was prepared on a "budget to budget" basis.

Exhibition Place have since worked with the City Financial Planning staff and have developed a revised operating budget that meets this directive. The revised operating budget is a net surplus of $500,000. The revised budget includes an expenditure for a contribution to the Conference Centre Reserve Fund ("CCRF") of $300,000. Previously the City allowed contribution to the CCRF since 2007 based on budget surplus in excess of budget target. City Council, at its meeting of January 17, 2012, reaffirmed the policy that Exhibition Place continue to contribute future operating budget surpluses (if any) to the Exhibition Place CCRF.

The revised budget showing the changes as per Schedule 1 below increases the operating surplus from $175,000 to $500,000 to reflect Exhibition Place historical results which represent an increased surplus of $325,000 or 186 percent.