A request for one-time financial help to the tune of $150,000 for the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre Company will not be answered quickly by the Logan Municipal Council. Its members decided Tuesday to form a committee to explore the financial situation of the company and to make sure it is doing all it can to cut expenses.
UFOMT Board Chairman Marc Ensign told the council that it is a one-time request that came about because of the loss of two major donors.
“It’s our intent to do our best,” Ensign told the council, “to be as close to a balanced budget as we can be in the future without, and this is important, without compromising what we are known for, without compromising the quality of productions that bring those patrons from Arizona and Texas and California to Cache Valley to spend their money in the summer time.
“They come for professional opera. There’s a difference between professional (opera) and community (theater).”
Founding director Michael Ballam told the council that his company has always been sound and he is doing more than ever now to cut expenses wherever possible. Council members said the opera company is important and they want it to continue to succeed.