November 3, 2009
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) – The Onondaga County Legislature is expected to bail the Oncenter out of more than a half-million dollar deficit Wednesday, as the country continues to layoff workers and tighten its own spending.
Bill Meyer, Chairman of the County Legislature said Tuesday they don't really have a choice but to get them out of the red. “We're obligated to help them and close the gap,” he said.
The original contract with the Oncenter requires them to step-up with a check. But with the county itself already financially strapped, many are questioning where the money will come from?
Meyer says much of the funds will come from a rainy day fund. “We have a little bit left over in there so between the money in the budget and the room occupancy tax, we'll have money to close the gap but we can't have this continue, this is one-time.”
Lawmakers hope this saving opportunity will eventually come back to help taxpayers.
The Oncenter got into the financial mess when their old CEO resigned in 2008. It took six months to fill the position. In the interim, an independent audit showed the finances were mismanaged.
The Oncenter was already $325-thousand in the hole at the start of 2009. Since then, bookings and attendance have been down.
In addition, workers compensation premiums jumped $120,000.
The Oncenter told the county that they needed to make facility upgrades to the War Memorial like replacing the seats in order to draw in more business. In the meantime, they couldn't book events throughout the summer.
“They're making progress but frankly we want more progress,” Meyer said. Legislators want things to be transparent and open. They would have preferred to have heard about an issue earlier in the year, when the bill to bring them into the black wouldn't have been so massive.
The Oncenter normally gets about $2 million annually in the county budget; the additional money from the county is on top of that.
Technically, the complex owes the county money from the parking garage and lot across the street. Despite a sharing agreement, the Oncenter has been keeping all of the profits from those lots for years.
That issue will also be a topic of conversation at Wednesday’s meeting.
