The Art Gallery of Northumberland (AGN) seems to be struggling financially.
- The Town of Cobourg agreed to provide the AGN with $205,000 in 2019.
- This is an increase of $130,000, or almost double the $75,000 provided last year.
The AGN agreed to provide the Town with quarterly financial reports.
This makes sense since taxpayers want to know that the Town’s money is being spent wisely. We also need to know that the extra money is helping to cover the operating costs of the AGN while helping to make the AGN a viable part of the Town’s cultural development initiatives. Unfortunately, there are troubling signs.
The financial report from the AGN is muddled and difficult to understand. The comparison of actual operating results (revenue and expenses, i.e. money coming in and money going out) with what was budgeted at the beginning of the year is difficult to comprehend – it’s a bit like comparing apples and oranges.
The AGN committed to getting $52,000 of additional financial support from a combination of Federal, Provincial and similar sources of grant money. To-date, none of this extra money has been received. The AGN must explain why. It also seems that money from sponsors and members is short of what was budgeted for 2019. Again, the AGN must explain why. It must also explain what steps it is taking to remedy these funding shortfalls.
The Art Gallery of Northumberland did submit a report to Cobourg Town Council last month; however, it failed to discuss or address any of these concerns. Additionally troubling is the fact that none of the Council members questioned any of the AGN’s shortcomings. Why not?
The report that AGN submitted to the Council of the Town of Cobourg last month failed to address these concerns. It is especially concerning that Council did not see fit to question these shortcomings in the report from the AGN.
If you want more detailed information on the financial statements of the AGN, please email the CTA at cta@cobourgtaxpayers.ca
If you want to make your opinion known to members of Council, their contact information can be found here: