Glendale City Council  discusses dealing with a leaky roof, an operating shortfall and how to work it all out with a struggling city budget.

By Ted AYALA

These days, the roof of the Glendale Civic Auditorium may not be the only thing that’s leaky. Discussions for a project to replace the venue’s roof revealed budget shortfalls that have as of yet no clear solutions.
City staff stated during Tuesday’s Glendale City Council meeting that the Glendale Civic Auditorium is projected to lose $157,000 for the current fiscal year. It was noted, however, that operating losses have decreased in the past few years. Losses in past years were as high the $400,000 range; last year’s operating loss was $282,000.
The estimate does not take into account the hit in revenue the auditorium will suffer if the city successfully shuts out the Glendale Gun Show. According to figures presented last week, the show is expected to pull in $57,000 in revenue for the city. The show also generates 13% of the venue’s yearly income.
Staff drafted a proposal for a replacement for the auditorium’s roof that tallied $360,000. The roof spreads out across 22,000 sq. ft. of the building.
Funds from the Dept. of Community Services and Parks’ $3.9 million enterprise fund will be used to pay for the costs of the roof replacement.
Funds from the Department of Community Services and Parks’ $3.9 million enterprise fund will be used to pay for the costs of the roof replacement.  The department’s enterprise fund is tapped into for projects relating to the maintenance and use of varied projects outside the scope of the auditorium. A budget shortfall in the venue could possibly affect how the monies would be parceled out for other uses, given the shared pool of resources they employ.
Though it would be possible to plug the revenue shortfall by supplanting the gun show with other events, staff cannot take action until the city council definitively decides the fate of
the event.