Budget blowout for MTG

The MTG Centre costs more to run than the money it generates.

The Museum Theatre Gallery Hawkes' Bay (MTG) continues to be a financial disappointment with latest figures from the Napier City Council showing it is costing more to run and generating less income than expected.

According to quarterly budget update figures, prepared for a meeting of the council's finance committee tomorrow, operating expenses for the MTG during the three months to September 30 were just over $1.1 million - $147,000 more than was budgeted for the quarter.

The cost over-run included redundancies as the facility underwent a restructuring following an independent review which recommended a change of management structure.

At the same time, revenue from the MTG was $107,000 below the $432,000 for which the council had budgeted.

The report said shop sales, visitor admissions and theatre hire revenue had been lower than expected over the three-month period.

Council chief executive Wayne Jack said the council was working on implementing a business improvement strategy that came out of the findings of the independent review.

"We're aware of it and it's just going to take a bit of time to turn around," Mr Jack said.

MTG director Douglas Lloyd Jenkins announced his resignation in August and will leave the job this month.

He will be replaced in February by Laura Vodanovich, who is director of Gisborne's Tairawhiti Museum.

The $18 million MTG opened in September last year.

It had a rocky first year with revelations the new facility did not have sufficient storage to house its entire collection as planned.

The council has set aside $629,000 to build a storage facility on land it owns in Onekawa to house artefacts unable to be stored at the MTG.

But Mr Jack said plans for the additional storage project would not be signed off until after they had been reviewed by Ms Vodanovich once she took over in the new year.

As well as 18 years' experience in the museum industry, Ms Vodanovich has qualifications in collection management.

"We'll wait for her to arrive and we'll make sure what we're doing is the right thing," Mr Jack said.