"Charleston Area Alliance OKs $1.9 million budget" - Charleston Daily Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. The Charleston Area Alliance's board of directors has approved a $1.9 million budget for 2008, up from $1.7 million this year.
The budget anticipates receiving $489,274 or 25 percent of revenues from member dues and events; $436,565 or 23 percent from rents and leases; $366,300 or 19 percent from government grants, including money from the state, the Kanawha County Commission and the city of Charleston; and $364,759 or 19 percent from direct private support of programs and sponsorships.
On the expense side, the budget anticipates spending $904,932 on wages and benefits, up 14 percent from the $792,870 budgeted last year. The increase can be attributed to the fact the Alliance hired a chief financial officer this year and is budgeting for another position it has not yet filled.
The 2009 budget also anticipates spending $437,491 on special projects including $141,765 on member services, $106,000 on economic development, $105,750 on community development, and $54,220 on East End Main Street.
In other action during Tuesday's meeting, the Alliance's directors requested and received two grants from the organization's foundation:
The Alliance was formed three years ago to merge the efforts and interests of the Charleston Chamber of Commerce, the former Charleston Renaissance Corp. and the former Business and Industrial Development Corp., which also was known as BIDCO.
During the meeting Drew Dunlap, the Alliance's economic development project manager, said an Italian printing company will be coming to the area. He said a formal announcement would be made within the next few weeks.
Also during the meeting, the Alliance's directors accepted the resignation of Ron Beane of JPMorgan Chase. Beane, who has served on the board and its predecessors since 1996, said he's sorry to leave the board but is spending more time out of town.
Alliance Vice Chairman Skip Lineberg presented Beane with a plaque commemorating Beane's service. The board named John Copenhaver III to the seat Beane vacated.
In other action, Lineberg announced that the Alliance has gained a seat on the Board of Directors of Mid-Atlantic Holdings Inc., a for-profit subsidiary of the Mid-Atlantic Technology, Research & Innovation Center, also known as MATRIC.
Lineberg said the Alliance will have the seat as long as it has debt outstanding to Mid-Atlantic Holdings.
The Alliance's predecessor, BIDCO, created MATRIC in 2004 with the hope that the South Charleston nonprofit institute would create jobs by harnessing the brainpower that Union Carbide Corp. brought to the Kanawha Valley over the decades. The Alliance extended a $500,000 line of credit to MATRIC four years ago. Earlier this year MATRIC asked that the credit line be converted into an equity stake. In October the Alliance's directors decided to convert the credit line into a combination of debt and equity in Mid-Atlantic Holdings.
On Tuesday, the Alliance's board voted to have member Pat Bond serve as its representative on Mid-Atlantic's Board of Directors. "I can't think of a better candidate from this board for that board," said Alliance director Mike Basile.
Also during the meeting, the Alliance bid farewell to Leanne Stowers, its workforce and education specialist. Stowers, who has been on the Alliance staff for six years, has chosen to spend some time as a stay-at-home mother.
John Calvert, who heads the Alliance's Workforce and Education Committee, said Stowers' "dedication to her job and her focus has been nothing short of amazing. We'll miss Leanne terribly."
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