It’s a Wonderful Budget

No one looks forward to capital budget time.

Some departments get what they want; others need to try again next year.

Just like Christmas, it’s rare to get everything you wanted.

We announced our 2006 capital budget early this year: $13.5 million. …but that doesn’t mean everything was set in stone. When push comes to shove, we still need to work out the specifics and make it all balance out.

On Monday, Will looked…well, in pain.

He gently told his assembled staff of directors that some hard decisions needed to be made in order to finalize the budget for 2006. Even though the $13.5 million budget is more than twice the amount of our previous record capital budget, we were still–on paper–way over.

So something had to go. (No, not The Voyage. Calm down!)

Will presented three options that would get us back on budget. Several directors groaned. A few others blanched. We talked through the options carefully, cautiously.

Will looked sick to his stomach.

Then Joe, who has worked here all but one of the years since we opened in 1946, suggested Option #4: Will, I could wait another year for my department to move to new offices.

It was very quiet in the room.

Then Wayne spoke up. He could do without some of the food-service extras that were on the list. April offered she could wait another year for new warehouse shelving. And Vanessa suggested dropping her new storage building from the list.

One by one, each director came forward until the budget was where it needed to be.

It was amazing.

Heartwarming.

Sort of like a Jimmy Stewart movie.