In Saturday’s (9/10) Denver Post, Kyle MacMillan reports, “The Colorado Symphony and its players union began renegotiating their recently approved labor agreement Friday as part of an attempt to slash expenses and balance the organization’s 2011-12 budget. The CSO ended its 2010-11 fiscal year in June with a $647,000 budget deficit, according to a recent ‘sustainability study committee’ report. … The report, compiled by an 11-member committee of board and staff members, musicians and community leaders, lays out a series of recommendations, including the immediate need for a ‘one-year turnaround plan.’ ‘It is the opinion of the Sustainability Study Committee that if the Colorado Symphony does not adopt all of the above recommendations in full and achieve success in their implementation, it faces a high probability of demise within the next two years,’ the report states. … CSO spokeswoman Margaret Williams said the orchestra has targeted a smaller budget for 2011-12 that can be feasibly balanced, but she declined to reveal its size because it has not yet been approved by the board. The orchestra’s 2010-11 budget was about $12 million. CSO musicians are currently working under an agreement, adopted in April, that restored four weeks of pay lost to previous furloughs and included a 4.5 percent salary increase for the 2012-13 season.”
Posted September 13, 2011
