HARRISBURG Pa. farm show faces financial crisis

The report says spending far exceeds revenue.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- Less than a year after an $86 million, 11-month renovation of the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex, the farm show faces a fiscal crisis, according to a scathing audit that predicts taxpayers will have to shell out more than $1 million to balance the budget.
The state Bureau of Farm Show faces a projected $3 million deficit next year, according to the 74-page audit report obtained by The Patriot-News in Harrisburg.
The Bureau of Farm Show is part of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and operates the 60-acre complex.
Members of the State Farm Products Show Commission, a 10-member panel that sets policy for the complex, said they would review the still-unreleased report prepared by the governor's budget office.
The newspaper reported Saturday that Gov. Ed Rendell is concerned about the audit.
"Does the governor believe there are serious problems? Yes," said Kate Phillips, a spokeswoman for Rendell. "And as a result of this, I think you are going to see a new farm show. Things are going to be run the way they are supposed to be run."
Audit criticizes
The audit criticizes the farm show management and Dennis Grumbine, who was executive director for eight years until Rendell replaced him several months ago.
Grumbine said some conclusions in the report were correct, but blamed the problems on "people in the Agriculture [Department] with more stripes on their shoulder than I have." The Agriculture Department referred questions to Phillips.
The report cites a "lack of management controls" for spending increases that far exceeded revenues. And it predicts it will cost taxpayers more than the $1 million that Rendell has proposed to balance the farm show's budget.
The recent renovation increased exhibit space to more than 1 million square feet at the complex, on the outskirts of Harrisburg, which hosts more than 200 trade shows, exhibits and activities.
The premier event, the Pennsylvania Farm Show, is billed as the nation's largest indoor agricultural event under one roof and draws an estimated 400,000 visitors a year.
The audit said the farm show bureau collected revenues of $5 million and spent $7 million from June 2002 to May 2003, and said the shortfall would reach $3 million next year.
The report said farm show officials gave preferential treatment to favored renters, while other groups were charged too much.
The report said auditors identified $500,000 a year the facility could collect if it charged all shows the same rent for the same space, collected fees imposed by similar facilities that it doesn't collect, and controlled spending more carefully.
Grumbine said some rental discounts the auditors criticized were made with the knowledge of the farm show commission, to make up for inconveniences during the renovations.