Today, NWFF board member (and former board president) Alan Pruzan added a few more factors that led to this summer's $70,000 budget crisis, which I've been reporting on for the last several days.

Pruzan says staff salaries, which have been steadily increasing,  and the expense of hiring Lyall Bush to replace Executive Director Michael Seiwerath, took a costly toll on the film forum's budget.

Pruzan also confirmed that film forum staff were incensed with Executive Director Lyall Bush's original response to the budget crisis, which included, according to sources, laying off Special Programs Curator Peter Lucas and putting Studio Director Dave Hanagan on unpaid furlough.

The staff brought their concerns to Bush and to the board, and the decision was, in part, overturned (Lucas is currently on unpaid furlough, and Hanagan is working three-quarters of his previous hours).

"Yes, the staff had issues with [Bush's decision], and those concerns were raised passionately and eloquently by many staff members," said Pruzan, who was not present at the meetings. "The case was made to re-think some of the staffing changes, and many of those suggestions were not only considered, but acted upon."

Pruzan continued: "The staff... was able to move past the raw, upending emotion that accompanies any personnel changes within a tightly-knit organization, and see the forest for the trees. I think the reality is that our current staffing scheme works on a practical level, is rooted in economic reality, and can serve as foundation for future growth."

UPDATE: NWFF Board Member David Rosencrans responded to my original story with this comment:

I was present at countless meetings through the month of August in which budget and staffing decisions were being made in the context of a cash-flow crunch and in advance of the organization's 2010 budget cycle. In my estimation, the Executive Director, staff and Board succeeded in reaching a collaborative outcome which in fact strengthened the financial and programming initiative of the organization. The entire group is to be applauded for its tenacity and desire to continue providing great service to the community, a hallmark of the Northwest Film Forum. And it is clear from the generous response to the fundraiser by our audience that they, too, are invested in the organization's future.