GENERAL COMMITTEE - COMMUNITY SERVICES AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
	TO:	Mayor and Members of Council
	FROM:	Barbara M. Roth, Director, Recreation and Culture Services
	PREPARED BY:	George Phillips, Manager, Markham Museum & Historic Village
	DATE OF MEETING:	2005-May-02
	SUBJECT:	Proposed Museum 2005 User Fees and Rates

RECOMMENDATION:

That the report entitled Proposed Museum 2005 User Fees and Rates be received;

And that the proposed fees for rentals, education and other programmes listed in Appendix A be approved effective June 1, 2005;

And that future increases be made annually based on the change in the Consumer Price Index (Toronto all items, May to May) with such increases to be effective January 1 of the following year and rounded to the nearest half dollar;

And that By-law 2002-276, a by-law to impose fees or charges for services or activities provided or done by the Town of Markham, be amended to reflect the new rates;

And further that notice to the public be provided in accordance with By-law 2002-275, a by-law to prescribe the form and manner and times for the provision of reasonable notice.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to gain approval to:

• Establish new rates and fees and increase some current rates and fees for the Markham Museum and Historic Village

• increase future Markham Museum rates and fees based on a 12-month change, May to May, of the Consumer Price Index (Toronto, All-Items)

BACKGROUND

The Museum generates income from five (5) general categories of activities: General Admissions, School Programs, Public Programs, Special Events and Facility Rentals.

The rate changes for special events are recommended in the Museum Master Plan and will have little impact on revenue generated from this activity. The facility rentals schedule is updated in this report to include specific new spaces available for rental including the Reception Centre.

A market survey of other similar local institutions is summarized in Appendix A. There are few similar institutions offering the range and exact types of products in the local area. The survey shows how the proposed new Museum fees compare to the fees of roughly similar programmes offered in the surrounding area.

Annual Increases

Approval is being sought to increase rates (outlined in Appendix A) annually based on the consumer price index (a 12-month change, May to May, of the Consumer Price Index (Toronto, All-Items), to be effective January 1 of the following year (this rate change process is aligned to the method approved for the Markham Theatre). Rate increases would be rounded up to the nearest half dollar. This approval would eliminate the need to return to Council on an annual basis seeking approval to increase rates. For increases of more than the consumer price index, it would be necessary to return to Council for approval.

OPTIONS/DISCUSSION

Option 1 – Council approve the proposed increases, directing the entire amount to the annual operating budget.

Option 2 – Council approve the proposed rates and fees and split the proposed transfer 50/50 between the operating budget and supplement the life cycle, replacement and capital reserve fund.

Option 3 – Council approve no increases to established rates and fees at this time but approve establishment of rates for new services and rental products.

Staff recommends Option 1

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Revenue Impact of Fee Adjustments

It is anticipated that if the increase in fees are approved there will be an estimated $11,854 annualized operating budget impact which is already reflected in the 2005 Operating Budget. As shown on the chart below, no increase in fees would generate revenue of $81,433 (based on 2004 volumes) and approval of the proposed rates would increase revenues by $11,854 to $93,287.

Revenue	Volume	No Increase	With Increased Recovery	Per Cent
General Admissions	1,131	$ 4,013	$ 4,615	15%
School Programs	1,661	$ 14,222	$15,786	11%
Public Programs	3,625	$ 32,320	$36,200	12%
Special Events	11,489	$ 12,928	$13,186	2%
Facility Rentals	89	$ 20,950	$ 23,500	12%
Total		$81,433	$ 93,287	14.5%

* Special Events category excludes partnered and fundraising events

Ticket Price Schedule 2005

A fees and charges schedule has been developed based on the Museum’s five general categories of facility and program sales. A detailed description of the subcategories is attached to this report as Appendix A.

These categories include General Admissions, School Programs, Public Programs, Special Events and Rentals. Within each category are subcategories representing the program types available for sale. An effort has been made to standardize the fees such that customers are less confused by different pricing for apparently similar products. In addition, the pricing allows for discounting for members in order to encourage revisits and growth in the number of Museum Members.

The Museum has surveyed a selected group of GTA Museums and facilities offering roughly equivalent programs and services. The Markham Museum’s proposed program fees compared to the average fees charged by GTA Museums and similar facilities are as follows:

Note: Selected fees below represent the majority of the Museum’s revenue based on past volumes. A full listing of proposed prices is available on Appendix A.

* The summary comparison of rates for general admissions is for adult admissions, the rates for children, seniors and students are described in appendix A.

Proposed Rental Rates 2005

Also contained in Appendix A is a listing of Museum facilities and the proposed rental fees for those areas. Rental rates are split into two basic categories, one rate for private functions and a reduced rate for eligible non-profit (community service) groups that have registered as such with the Town. In addition most rental rates are split into day and evening rates due to the increased staffing cost to support events outside the Museum’s regular business hours.

Church wedding rental rates incorporate a recovery for the cost for staff to be on hand to show the venue to prospective customers, generally after regular business hours, and the cost for attending on the day of the event. In addition, the Museum wishes to recover the cost of clean-up and minor maintenance associated with this and other rental uses of Museum facilities.

As with Programs above the Museum has surveyed select equivalent museums and similar venues in the GTA and compared the Markham Museum’s proposed fees to an average of roughly equivalent venues. A summary of our findings is presented below.

Note: Selected fees below represent the majority of the Museum’s revenue based on past volumes

User Fee Increases/Decreases are Reasonable within the Existing Market Situation

Salaries, utilities and maintenance costs have increased in 2004 and 2005 without any increases in Museum fees.

The projected additional revenue, $11,854 will be directed to the Museum operating budget to help to off-set the inflationary costs of operating the Museum facility, such as salaries, utilities and contract increases. The Museum’s annual operating budget is subject to costs increases relating to staffing costs in union and non-union sectors and utility costs. This proposal will allow the Museum to recover some of those costs. The proposed rate increases will help to offset these added annualized expenses.

Other similar size and quality facilities in the local area are providing fewer programme opportunities for smaller resident markets. The proposed fees are, for the generic ‘Museum Village’ type of programming, consistent with other local museums.

The increased fees are reasonable and justified given the Museum’s commitment to improved financial performance.

The rates are determined based on the cost of providing the programs and the connection to the Museum’s mission-driven goals.

ATTACHMENTS:

Appendix A – Rate Change Schedule

Barbara M. Roth, R.D.M.R. Director, Recreation and Culture Services

Jim Sales Commissioner of Community and Fire Services

Q:\Recreation\FEES\FEE001\2005\Culture\Museum User Fees 2005.doc