Orchestra London will not get another cent from the city to keep the music alive.
In a 15-0 vote, the Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee denied the organizations request for a $375,000 bailout.
The board was asking the city for the money to pay for $215,000 owed to the musicians, $110,000 owed to the Canada Revenue Agency and $50,000 to pay for the process of a voluntary bankruptcy.
As of this summer, Orchestra London had a debt of $932,758, but was tracking towards ending the year with a small surplus. That is, until a pledge donation of $350,000 fell through in December.
"The orchestra had a budget that included the $350,000. When we were launching this coming season, the season we're in now, if we had know in February that that amount was not going to materialize we would not have launched the season, because we would not have had enough money to fund it based on any reasonable calculations," says Chair of Orchestra London Canada Inc. Joe O'Neill. "We have struggled in terms of revenue, particularly ticket sales have dropped a couple of hundred of thousands of dollars, I'm not really sure why that's the case."
The orchestra gets $500,000 each year from the city. It is also granted nearly $400,000 from the Canada Arts Council and Ontario Arts Council.
In addition to the $500,000 payed out to the orchestra in 2014, the city is on the hook for another $500,000. London has a guarantee up to $500,000 with the TD Bank on the orchestra's line of credit. If the bank calls in the loan, the city will have to pay that money back.
The organization also owes Centennial Hall, which is operated by the city, over $49,000 in unpaid rental fees.
While councillors stressed the importance of the orchestra and the arts in London, none were satisfied that the organization could turn itself around if granted the money.
Shows were cancelled last weekend and Executive Director Joe Swan resigned this week after the financial statements were made public.
"It (Orchestra London) still exists," says O'Neill. "It's a corporation, it's not functioning, it's not generating revenue, but Orchestra London Canada Inc. still exists as a corporation."
There is no money to reimburse those who have tickets for performances scheduled for 2015.
O'Neill says the board will be meeting with bankruptcy lawyers in the coming days to figure out what the next steps will be.
The 46 musicians of Orchestra London have been playing pop up concerts across the city since they were locked out of Centennial Hall. Officials say they will be exploring ways to continue playing together and bringing their music to Londoners.