Wednesday, August 27, 1997
City funding of arts uncertain
By ANTHONY WILSON Staff Writer
It is unclear whether City Hall still intends to fund the Abilene
Cultural Affairs Council in the wake of county commissioners'
decision to nix funding.
City Manager Roy McDaniel said Tuesday city officials must
discuss the merits of giving the Cultural Affairs Council $34,000
to help pay for its programming.
McDaniel has called arts funding a "high priority"
if the city has surplus funds at the end of the current fiscal
year. But if the Cultural Affairs Council can't leverage other
grants with local money, the expense may diminish in importance,
he said.
"If they still have the capability of getting outside
funding with $30,000 or $60,000, there's still some validity in
making it work," McDaniel said. "If not, they probably
don't need our money either."
Downtown Manager Elizabeth Grindstaff said she expects the
Tax Increment Financing district board will approve its share
of funding for the Cultural Affairs Council next month.
Facing a huge budget deficit, Taylor County commissioners sliced
their $34,000 contribution to the arts council Monday. Last week,
they offered tentative approval after confronted by a crowd of
supporters.
The city, county and TIF district agreed in 1994 to send the
Cultural Affairs Council $100,000 over a three-year period as
a match to a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts.
The funds paid for a wide range of programs, most notably Young
Audiences and Artwalk.
When the federal grant ended last year, the governmental bodies
continued their financial support. But facing tight budgets, the
City Council and Commissioners Court have been more reluctant
to ante up this year.
"It was disappointing," Lynn Barnett, the art council's
executive director, said of the commissioners' decision. "But
whenever you deal with funding for the arts, you approach it cautiously.
I hadn't taken anything for granted. They were clear they had
difficult budget decisions to make."
Barnett said the local funds aren't used to leverage other
grants, but to pay for the council's programming. She deemed the
money "enormously helpful."
The TIF board will consider arts council funding Sept. 9.
"I don't think (the commissioners' decision) will in any
way impact the decision before the TIF board," Grindstaff
said. "The TIF board is in a different financial situation
and is very supportive of the Cultural Affairs Council. I don't
see it wanting programming cut."
Barnett said she's unsure whether arts backers will lobby the
Commissioners Court during a public budget hearing next week.
The city won't know if it has a budget surplus until the books
on 1996-97 are closed at year's end.
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Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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