Vancouver Olympics Budget Shortfall – Seeks 1,500 “Loaned” Employees
2010 Games seeks to borrow workers to ease budget
Organizers of next year’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver, facing a budget crunch, said on Thursday they want employers to lend them up to 1,500 short-term workers. Similar worker-loan programs have been used in past Olympics, but organizers of the 2010 Games acknowledged their plan was bigger and said it reflected “the realities of the economic downturn”.
The Vancouver organizers have found themselves looking at the possibility of a budget shortfall, in part because the International Olympic Committee has yet to sign up all the worldwide sponsors that had been expected to help fund the Games’ C$1.75 billion ($1.62 billion) operating budget.
“While the final value and number of loaned employees will not be known for several months, the program will result in significant savings to VANOC’s operational budget,” the Vancouver Organizing Committee said. VANOC said it would be better for the borrowed workers to come from the Vancouver area since housing conditions for the Games, to be held in February in this Canadian Pacific Coast city, are already looking tight. Jobs that need to be filled are as diverse as managers, anti-doping testers, and snow shovelers. The jobs would last from as little as eight weeks to as long as six months.
VANOC’s original budget called for it to have 1,400 paid staff and 3,500 temporary staff when the Games begin. Those workers will backed up by 25,000 volunteers and 10,000 contractors.
In addition, the Canadian government expects to bring in 7,000 police officers, 5,000 troops and hundreds private security guards to protect venues and visitors during the Games.
Folks, DO NOT believe the financial cotton candy the 2016 Committee is spinning in Chicago. The Olympics will cost YOU dearly in terms on higher taxes, destroyed public parks, massive ongestion and civicl liberties abuse. Call your Alderman and demand “NO GAMES! NO BLANK CHECK!”