With the $2 million Trotter Center renovation set to be completed by the end of the year, the Columbus City Council voted at its Tuesday meeting to raise rates for the facility by 20-to-25 percent, depending on which facilities are booked.
No one is particularly fond of paying more for things, we realize, but in this case the increases are justified. The city, which had not raised its rates at the Trotter since 2007, studied comparable facilities before making setting the new rates, which appear to be in line with what other facilities around the state charge.
We applaud the move not just because it brings rental rates up to standard, but because it represents a real opportunity to make the Trotter Center a more fiscally viable asset to the taxpayers, who are the real “owners” of the facility.
Trotter director Frank Goodman has noted that the Trotter Center is booked on every weekend of 2015, which speaks to the demand for and importance of such a facility to our community.
But what this rate adjustment also represents is an opportunity for the Trotter Center to move toward being more self-sustaining. As we have seen with the current efforts to update the facility, it is understandable that, over time, repairs and renovations are required.
We suggest that the rate increase will help create a situation so that when future updates and repairs are required, some — if not all — of the needed funds will already be on hand. To achieve this, any surplus revenue should be reserved for those repairs. The surplus should not go back into the general fund.
The city needed to secure a loan for the current renovations. Ideally, future renovations need not be funded entirely through loans, however. To move toward that goal, the city, after having adjusted its rental rates, should take the next logical step.
That requires setting a clearly articulated written policy governing under what circumstances the Trotter can be provided to groups for free or discounted prices. While elected officials are charged with managing the Trotter Center, the facility belongs to the taxpayers. It is not something that should be offered for free or discounted rates at the discretion of an elected official.
That is not to say that there are not instances where providing The Trotter to groups for free or discounted rates is not justified.
These instances should be rare exceptions, however.
To ensure accountability, in addition to forming a written policy, we further propose that any request for free or discounted use of the Trotter be made before the city council at its regular meeting
In private business, a manager of a business would be compelled to notify the business owner when he is offering a price break on a product. When it comes to the Trotter Center, the people should expect no less.
We look forward to the opening of the renovated Trotter Center, not only for all it has meant to the community, but for what it can be.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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