The amount of money needed to fund the 2002 Winter
Olympic Games "is now less" than the SLOC's $140M
contingency fund, a "subtle but significant milestone for
Olympic organizers," according to Linda Fantin of the SALT
LAKE TRIBUNE. An additional $4M in cuts since September and
$10M in donations last week have resulted in the budget
"gap" falling to $134M. SLOC COO Fraser Bullock said the
latest figures mean "every item in the core budget is
covered" and that SLOC "has turned an important corner."
Bullock: "We now feel confident we can balance the budget."
Fantin notes that the "core budget does not include" $171M
SLOC expects to get from the federal government for roads,
buses, security and other items." Bullock: "If we have a
shortage in federal funding or we have what I'll call
'expected surprises' come up, then we'll dip into our
contingency." The SLOC cut its budget by "several" million
dollars by "limiting" interest payments and insurance
premiums, reducing meal costs for volunteers and replacing
the Olympic newspaper with a smaller "newsletter for those
staying in the Olympic village." Bullock "bludgeoned" his
own budget by $440,000, leaving him a two-year "leash of
just" $100,000 to run his office (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 1/11).
