NMDC works to pare costs
CARIBOU, Maine — The Northern Maine Development Commission Board heard the revenue and expenditure statement for the period ending Oct. 31, 2015 during last week’s meeting and subsequently discussed alternative spending methods.
“Our total revenues as of October 31st are $1,517,635.18, which represents 34.72 percent of our budget, or 1.39 percentage points above our benchmark,” said NMDC Finance Director Mary Dahlgren.
According to Dahlgren, total expenses for the period were $1,287,899.62, 30.73 percent of budgeted expenses, or 2.6 percentage points below the benchmark, giving the NMDC board an agency balance of $229,735.56.
“As of the end of October,” said Dahlgren, “our operating line of credit was $814,500. We did get some money from DOL (Department of Labor) last week, so we were able to pay that down to $744,500.”
“The following expenses have 10 percent variants above the benchmark for the period,” continued Dahlgren, “other employment services is at 12.6 percent and business meals are at 14.15 percent. Our staff has been very cautious about our spending this fiscal year.”
NMDC Professional Fees are at 93.42 percent. Dues and subscriptions are at 97.09 percent, office supplies are at 7.27 percent, and supplies and equipment is at 0.88 percent.
“Do not purchase any equipment or supplies unless absolutely necessary,” said Dahlgren. “We’ve now organized all our supplies, which Judy [Dinsmore] took the time to do. So now we only have one person that’s purchasing and everybody is not buying at the same time.”
“Our maintenance is at 44.9 percent,” the finance director continued. “This is due to the annual maintenance of our heating system and also because we did some repairs in an office after a longtime employee left.”
Electricity is at 21.5 percent, heat is at 8.1 percent, and insurance is at 76.08 percent.
“These are annual renewal fees,” said Dahlgren, “and most of them are due in October.”
Trade show admissions is at 9.96 percent, since, according to Dahlgren, “the bulk of the trade show attendance is in the winter months.”
Promotional materials are at 75.33 percent and advertising and media relations are at 55.4 percent.
“This material is purchased upfront and used throughout the year,” explained Dahlgren, “it includes our 2015 Aroostook County Visitor’s Guide, our placement in TripAdvisor, and Aroostook County Tourism quotas.”
The Finance Director also explained that depreciation for furnitures and fixtures is at 49.8 percent, interest expenses are at 57.34 percent, and NMDC cash contributions are at 8.51 percent.
“If I recall from our previous meeting, the line of credit is kept at $815 [thousand]?,” asked NMDC Executive Board Vice Chair Austin Bleess. “We’re getting very close to that, which concerns me.”
“As soon as the money comes in from DOL,” explained Dahlgren, “it will go right back on there.”
Bleess suggested a few methods in which the board could cut costs.
“Do we need to have meals at all the meetings here?” Bleess asked. “Is that something we can agree to do away with to help recover the costs for the organization? I feel like we, as a board, need to stand up and make some changes, and we’re not just going to ask staff to stop buying paper clips. I think there needs to be some shared responsibility for the position the organization is in right now based upon the decisions that the board has made over the last five to 10 years.”
NMDC Executive Director Robert Clark said he could see Bleess’ point, but added that the executive board only gets about two meals a year, one in November and “probably one in January.”
Bleess suggested cutting the board’s Christmas gifts, exchanged during a Yankee Swap in December, to save money, adding that he doesn’t want to see the staff make sacrifices if they board doesn’t make them as well.
“It’s minimal, I realize that,” said Bleess in reference to the gifts, “but still we need to cut costs everywhere we can if we’re going to try to lower this line of credit.”
“It’s minimal, but when you times it by 29, it’s not so minimal,” said Clark.
The board, on the whole, agreed with the Bleess’ suggestions and motioned to accept the Oct. 31 revenue and expenditure statement.
