Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Tucson: Arts Funding At Risk - Contact your Legislators

 

From: AzActionfortheArts [mailto:info@azcitizensforthearts.org]
Sent: Wednesday, May 06, 2009 1:45 PM
Subject: Arts Funding At Risk - Contact your Legislators

 

 

Arts Funding At Risk - Contact your Legislators

 

Arts Funding At Risk - Contact your Legislators

 

 

 

Last week, Arizona's Legislative Leadership released their 2010 state budget document which:

  • Essentially eliminates ongoing general appropriations to the Arizona Commission on the Arts:  $1.58 million.
  • Sweeps the remaining $14.653 million from our once-$20 million ArtShare endowment.
  • Offers a mere $300,000 in an "operations offset" - not even enough to match NEA funds to which Arizona is entitled

 It is imperative that we let the Legislature know this proposal is unacceptable and utterly devastating to the Arizona Commission on the Arts.  Their proposal follows January's action making one of the largest budget reductions ever to the Commission budget:  $423,000 taken mid-year from the general appropriation and $5.347 million swept from ArtShare.

 

 Let's put this in perspective. These new reductions:

  • reduce 80% of Arts Commission support to nonprofit arts organizations, schools and community centers THROUGHOUT Arizona
  • jeopardize up to 50,000 private sector jobs and arts education programs reaching 1.7 million youth statewide
  • mean that the Arizona Commission on the Arts has returned more money to the state than the entire estimated fiscal year operating budget of the Commission for 2009.
  • will cost Arizona citizens $2 for every $1 reduction because Federal matching funds will be lost.

Arizona Action for the Arts along with the Arizona Commission on the Arts continues working closely with the Governor's Office for Strategic Planning and Budget (OSPB) to identify alternative fund-reduction scenarios to mitigate the impact during these already difficult economic times.

 

Our board members and liaison advocates have participated in more than 20 face-to-face meetings with key leaders in the Governor's Office, House and Senate.   More will be scheduled. During these meetings, we address the potential impact the budget cuts would have in their districts.

 

Our goal:

 • preserve a larger portion of the general appropriation, and

 • protect the ArtShare endowment from further raids.

 

Our Proposal:

The Arts industry understands that budget reductions are unavoidable in the current situation.  Nearly every agency and non-profit organization in the state is cutting budgets to ride out this storm. However, we are not prepared to allow such drastic cuts to occur to the arts in Arizona.

 

A 78% cut is unacceptable. A sweep of ArtShare is unacceptable.  We are willing to step up to the plate in these difficult times and offer to reduce the Commission appropriation by 25%.  However, the ArtShare Endowment has already been cut over 25% and should not be reduced further. The Arts have been cut by a greater percentage than most if not all other areas of the budget. More is not acceptable. Further cuts affect real jobs and real people throughout Arizona.

 

Action Needed:

We now ask that you take ACTION.  Contact your own Legislators by phone and email.  Let them know how you feel about these drastic cuts and how they will impact you personally, whether you are concerned about your community theatre cutting back its outreach programs or the closure of arts programs or non-profits arts organizations. Find out how the arts impact your district. Go to our website.

 

Tell them to consider a realistic budget proposal that doesn't devastate the arts!  We have suggested "talking points" available for your use, but the simplest message is "The House and Senate leadership budget proposal  will destroy the arts in Arizona."  Personalize your message as much as possible.

 

Take a few minutes right now to send your personal message to your State Senator and Representatives, or you can choose to use some general messages that we've prepared. Check our Advocacy Guide  for more direction and content suggestions.

 

The Legislative session will be long and challenging.  But, lawmakers must understand that we will not sit on our hands while they decimate the arts industry in Arizona, affecting each and every district in this state.
 

Please forward this email to at least three other people you think would like to help us fight this battle to keep the arts sector from devastation.

 

Thank You

 

Take Action

 

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