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Rehoboth Beach cuts back on shows at Bandstand
City looks to trim expenses in light of falling revenues | By Ryan Mavity | Cape Gazette
Rehoboth Beach plans to reduce performances at the Bandstand by eliminating Thursday night shows.
The Bandstand will continue to offer concerts Friday, Saturday and Sunday in season.
The reduction is part of a citywide effort to cut expenditures. Eliminating Thursday concerts would save the city $10,000 toward the 2009-10 budget, City Manager Greg Ferrese said at the Jan. 5 commissioners workshop.
Ferrese asked all department heads to trim $5,000 from their budgets. He said revenues such as transfer taxes and building-permit fees are down, forcing the city to save money wherever it can. This year’s budget, Ferrese said, would be tight. The first hearing is set for 9 a.m., Friday, Jan. 16.
Bandstand director Corey Groll said eliminating Thursdays would take away about 10 performances. He said Thursday performances were the least attended, depending on the act, and the most obvious contender to be cut.
“Everybody has to tighten their belts. This was our way to do it,” Groll said.
He said he would like to bring back Thursday performances in the future, although it would depend on funding. One idea that has come up is possibly hiring the band for free and passing the hat to patrons to help pay for the performance. Groll said he has ruled this out because it may not cover the performers’ food and lodging costs, plus concerts are free and he did not want patrons to feel obligated to put money in a hat.
Groll said reaction to cutting Thursday performances has been mixed. Most people have been thankful the shows will remain free of charge, which was his goal in deciding to eliminate Thursday performances. After the meeting, Ferrese said the city is looking at a variety of ways to cut costs, such as rescheduling employees and paying less overtime. Ferrese said the city would budget $60,000 for the bandstand this year, $8,000 less than last year.
He said Groll is looking for sponsors in an effort to continue having Thursday concerts. Groll said the sponsorships could come from businesses and individuals and in exchange for funding, the donors would get mentioned in press releases and at the performances.
Information has been posted at www.rehobothbandstand.com.
As for other cost-cutting measures, Ferrese said he has talked with Public Works Director Mel Craig about giving employees more time off during the week in order to cut down on overtime on weekends. He said the city is also looking into reducing part-time staff this summer. The city pays $5,000 to $6,000 per employee for part-time summer help.
Finally, Ferrese said, city employees will see minimal raises this year, although he hopes all full-time employees will keep their jobs.
“It’s not a good time,” he said. “It’s the worst I’ve seen since I’ve been here.”
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