Re: Further Troubling Data from Commission Meeting

This budget information might be concerning, but it might be misleading as well. As stated, the budget year began on July 1st. The operating season begins approximately the end of May and runs through the middle of October. Thus, we have already passed through 3 1/2 months of the operating season with a little more than one month of operation to go in this budget year. I would expect that expenditures are much higher when the train is operating than when it is not. While money is being spent on things like the shop work, reservations, etc., I am certain that monthly expenditures during this off-season are nothing like they are during the operating season. One should not overlook the fact that although we are about halfway through the railroad's fiscal year, we are actually about 75% through the operating season as measured by the budget year. Thus, unless you project these costs out on a monthly basis and account for down times and up times, I would expect for these budget amounts to look as if there is a certain amount of overspending going on. However, it may be that the numbers are not off at all when you consider that 3/4's of the operating season during this budget year has already passed and has been paid for.