Saint John's Imperial Theatre has issued a report saying a proposed city budget cut would force the performing arts centre to close its doors.

"There is not a scenario of ticket price increases and cost reduction that would enable the Theatre to continue to operate after losing 25% of its funding," states the report issued to city council Monday night.

The Imperial is part of the Regional Facilities Commission, which means city council does not have direct control over its finances.

But, if approved by city council, the plan would see the municipality issue a formal request to the provincial government to have the Imperial removed from the Commission so the city can implement budget cuts.

The Commission was created by provincial legislation to ensure the municipality and outlying communities all contribute toward its $2.1-million budget.

The city's portion of that amount is $352,000, with surrounding communities kicking in $189,000.

Executive Director Angela Campbell says talks continue with city managers to find a scenario that will not lead to serious cuts to programming or outreach. (Facebook)

Executive director Angela Campbell says the Theatre has been in talks with city officials since the fall discussing scenarios ranging from the total loss of municipal funding down to a 10 per cent cut.

She says none of the options discussed so far will work.

"We're still looking through scenarios, but as of right now without massive increases in rental rates and massive ticket increases, which would also result in less tickets being sold, obviously, we haven't found a sustainable scenario yet."

The report to council says even a 50 per cent cut would lead to a 93 percent increase in ticket costs, the elimination of smaller shows along with some creative programming.

Outreach to seniors and to children from lower income neighbourhoods would also be hit.

The 852-seat theatre dates from the Vaudeville era and is known for its Italian renaissance features that were meticulously reconstructed in the early 1990's.

It hosted 157 performances during the 2018-19 season

The municipality is trying to find ways to reduce its operating costs by $10 million in both 2021 and 2022 to deal with anticipated budget shortfalls.

Costs have been increasing an average of three per cent annually, while tax assessment growth has only been half that amount.

"This is not a dispute on whether the Imperial Theatre is an asset to the community or not," said mayor Don Darling. "It's the fact that we're spending $10 million more than we have. It's one among many items that are being considered."