RUMFORD – A handful of River Valley Technology Center board members discussed a proposed “break even” budget at Tuesday’s meeting, but lacked the quorum to make it official. Only six of the 17 directors attended.

Based on projected and historical numbers, the July through June fiscal 2008 budget totals $259,979. Of that, $101,270 is projected for income and $158,709 for expenses, leaving a net income of minus $57,439. However, regarding that deficiency, $57,276 is for depreciation, a non-cash item that the board must record in its budgets, according to RVTC President Dick Lovejoy.

“We’re operating at nearly break-even, only because no electric was paid in July. It was paid in August,” RVTC treasurer Rich Allen told the five other board members present. The monthly power bill for the four-story technology center ranges from $2,500 to $3,000.

Finding and adding tenants will help the board sustain the building, although, earlier this month, they got an unexpected boost from a $37,250 state Department of Economic and Community Development grant, Lovejoy said.

“Without the $37,000, we’d be in rough shape. We appreciate the DECD grant we got, because it is giving us a chance for another year to find more tenants,” he added.

As it is, Allen has only budgeted $300 a month, or $3,600 for the year, for contracted services to maintain and operate the center, the mission of which is to create jobs.

Although $7,500 is projected for grants and donations – “a pie-in-the-sky number,” according to Allen – another $1,300 a month in rental income could be realized starting in January. That’s when a new dental clinic is expected to start serving patients within nearly 1,800 feet of space on the first floor.

“There doesn’t seem to be any barriers to it,” Lovejoy said.

The proposed budget will be brought up again for a vote at next month’s meeting.

In other business, Lovejoy said acting Director Diane Ray of Canton is seeking funding to get the center’s third and fourth floors usable, a project expected to cost a few million dollars. The third floor of the former bag mill has a floor, but there are holes in the top level’s floor.

“We’re putting together a rough cost estimate to do both floors to use for prospective grants. If Diane can find funding for the two floors, activities will start to pick up,” Lovejoy said.