In Tuesday’s (11/2) Oregonian (Portland), David Stabler reports, “The Oregon Symphony just released its audited figures and they show a whopping surplus of $563 for the fiscal year ending last June. That’s a bit misleading because the orchestra’s board of directors deferred an additional surplus of $480,000 to the current fiscal year budget. So the real surplus is $480,563, the first time that’s happened in several seasons. Yes, the Oregon Symphony has a surplus. Several reasons led to this moment: A smaller budget. The orchestra shaved $1.6 million from its previous year’s budget by reducing expenses, including a 13 percent cut in pay and benefits for musicians and staff. Also, the orchestra paid off its long-term bank debt of $7 million from unrestricted funds in its endowment, saving about $400,000 a year in interest costs. But here’s something even more interesting. The orchestra had to balance its budget last year. It was one of the requirements in order to receive $1 million from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, said Elaine Calder, symphony president.”
Posted November 2, 2010
