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The Hale Centre Theatre can pay its top bosses all it wants, but taxpayers have their limits.
For Salt Lake County, it's $95,000.
Not a dime more in Zoo, Arts and Parks funding can go toward any one executive of a nonprofit - a salary cap imposed last year over concerns about the six-figure pay packages of Hale's top leaders.
So if Hale's directors want to pull down $110,000 salaries, the theater will have to make up the difference.
Those top salaries - especially when compared with the $30 to $60 actors earn per performance - have some County Council members wondering if Hale's ZAP funding should be revisited.
"The Hale Theatre does extremely well - and they deserve to do well - but should they receive public assistance?" Jim Bradley asked Tuesday. "If so . . . how much?"
Fellow Councilman David Wilde, a longtime Hale backer, said he would have to investigate the matter before taking a position. But if the theater did anything "inappropriate," he said, he would treat it like any other ZAP recipient and take action.
The theater's pay deals came as little surprise to county officials, who have discussed the issue before. They noted the new ZAP rules were intended to keep taxpayers from supporting hefty salaries.
Besides the paltry pay for performers, county leaders also question whether the theater is acting appropriately by leasing stage sets and props from a for-profit business operated by Hale executives.
Artistically, the theater is a gem, Councilman Joe Hatch said. As a recipient of public funds, "it ought to be above reproach."
Hale tapped $858,000 from ZAP last year and is poised to snag $913,000 this year.
In the theater's hometown, West Valley City officials said they lacked adequate information to evaluate the organization's pay levels.
"It's something that may be worth looking into," Mayor Dennis Nordfelt said. "At this point, I don't have any concerns. Maybe an 'interest' would categorize how I feel about it."
The city owns the $8 million theater and leases it to Hale in return for a portion of ticket sales. The city has collected about $350,000 to $400,000 annually since the theater opened in 1998, according to city spokesman Aaron Crim.
So how high is too high for Hale's pay scale? Good question.
"I just don't know if there is a better way to run the theater," County Councilman Mark Crockett said. "If so, we will probably have a lot of questions."