Tonight Smalltown and Dullbridge Town Councillors who serve on the White Elephant Enclosure Mismanagement Committee will hear a report from the Smalltown Culture and Arts Manager (SCAM), Susie Cookbook, which explains how well the WEE is doing under her leadership.
But is all as it seems? Of course not, this is the WEE after all. The SCAM may be new to the role, but the scam continues.
Firstly the three community user groups who meet regularly at the WEE record a total of 159 users. However, these are figures for the month, with members counted four times over the period. Therefore the actual individual user number is closer to 40. Forty people who use the WEE on a regular basis.
Further down the report is a comparison between the number of tickets purchased and the amount of revenue during the same for week period in 2022 and 2023. At first glance it looks good. Councillors will learn that an extra 182 tickets sold this month compared to 2022, and the total revenue for the four weeks was £15,094 compared to £19,694 this year.
Incredible, right? The WEE took £19,694 last month. It must be doing well. No, not exactly. There’s a big difference between revenue – the amount of money taken at the till – and income – the amount of money the WEE actually got into its purse.
During this period six events took place. Of those, four were hires of the venue, two of which took advantage of the ‘Community User’ hire rates, the remaining two events were held on an 80/20 split. So whilst the revenue sum for ticket sales looks good the WEE doesn’t really get all that money, with ticket sales either going directly to the hirer or the WEE getting 20%.
As the two split events – Kate Hedge and the Not-So-Great Magician – sold only 88 and 64 tickets respectively, the WEE income for the two events was £649.94.
There is no mention of expenditure in the SCAM’s report – that is detailed on a separate page in the agenda. However it would be more useful if Councillors were to take a look at the income vs the expenditure for the month. Even an idiot couldn’t fail to notice that all is not right. A cursory glance shows that total income for the month was £27,094 whilst expenditure was £43,894. A total loss of £16,741.94.
In the eight month accounting period to mid-December the WEE has lost £104,261.94 and, with only four monlhs remaining and a total budget of £170,553.94, it looks as if only a miracle will see the WEE remain within budget.
Readers should also take into account that the total losses sustained so far do not include a full year’s salary paid to the SCAM and the Smalltown Culture and Media Promotions Individual (SCAMPI), nor the fact that the WEE is closed for much of December and January.
But forget all that – look at those user numbers and revenue. All is wonderful at the WEE, although it is no wonder that an increase in the subsidy is required.