Overture Center announced this morning it will cut 15 positions — about 25 percent of its authorized workforce — to balance the facility's budget next year.

The move, which would cut four vacant jobs and 10.8 occupied positions, would eliminate the most city positions at one time in many years.

The cuts would save $467,400 in wages and benefits.

It's unclear, however, how many employees will actually be laid off because union workers can "bump" into available positions elsewhere in city government.

Overture Officials are informing staff about specific cuts this morning. The final work day would be Jan. 16.

The Madison Cultural Arts District, which operates the arts center, approved the cuts this morning as part of a $5.62 million budget for the first six months of 2009.

In the spring, the arts district's board of directors hopes to change its budget calendar and offer a spending plan for July through June 2010.

"These are very difficult times," said board chairwoman Linda Baldwin, adding an expression of sympathy for any employees who will lose jobs.

"We have a very difficult day ahead of us," Overture President Tom Carto said.

The city is already preparing to assist those who will lose jobs. On Tuesday, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and Ald. Mike Verveer, 4th District, introduced a proposal to the City Council to provide for the payment of health insurance premiums for up to three months for any permanent employee who is laid off as a result of a lack of work or funding.

"This is the first time in Mayor Dave's administration we've seen such significant layoffs," Verveer said. "I've been at this for 14 years and this is the worst I've seen. It's a very sad day."

The arts center has 57 permanent staff, including 33 union members; 89 seasonal hourly employees, including 70 union members; and about 300 stage hands, who are all represented by a union, city human resources director Brad Wirtz said.

The permanent employees who belong to a union can bump to another city position, either by moving to a vacancy or displacing the person with the least seniority within the same job classification, Wirtz said.

The city last cut a significant number of positions in 2003, when Madison Metro eliminated more than 10 jobs, Wirtz said. All but three people were able to bump to other positions, he said.

Overture is asking remaining staff to take on more duties and will rely on hourly staff and outsourcing to handle important tasks, Carto said in a memo to the board.

Only a few months ago, Overture's fortunes looked different. But then the city settled a labor contract, Overture's trust fund was liquidated to pay for construction debt, and the national economy tanked.

Carto has said that he and managers combed through the budget to find savings for next year — the new budget cuts expenses $972,000 — but it became clear that layoffs were unavoidable.

The arts center spends about 44 percent of its budget on labor, compared to 30 percent at other centers, Overture officials have said.

Labor costs are a special challenge because the arts district makes staffing decisions but employees receive high-cost city wages and benefits, they said.

Meanwhile, revenues are projected to be down $440,000 to $4.04 million for the first six months of 2009. The budget anticipates 65 percent capacity, compared to 75 percent this year.

At the close of the meeting, Verveer praised staff and board colleagues for producing a responsible budget, but noted the absence of the public or union representatives at the 8 a.m. meeting and raised concerns about the transperancy of the budget process.

The board, for example, met in a closed session earlier this week to discuss personnel, and Overture staff refused a State Journal request for public budget documents on Wednesday afternoon, citing a desire to inform employees about budget decisions first.

The mayor's office also declined to assist in getting the documents on Wednesday.

"Are we meeting the letter and spirit of the open meetings law?" Verveer asked.

The board agreed to review the budget process at a future meeting.

Overture, built with a $205 million gift from philanthropist W. Jerome Frautschi, had a trust fund to retire construction debt and contribute up to $1.4 million annually for operations and maintenance.

But banks this fall forced Overture to liquidate the fund to pay off $87 million in construction loans. The trust, which was collateral on the loans, fell to $95 million in September. A $27 million loan remains.