Cultural Affairs and Special Events – Eliminate Tier IV of City Arts
| Savings: $100,000 |
The CityArts Program is “designed to assist the not-for-profit arts and cultural community in the city of Chicago through general operating support.”[1] There are four tiers of CityArts:
|
Program |
Organizations Served |
2010 Grants Spending |
| CityArts I | “Emerging” groups with annual budgets of less than $150,000 |
$124,400 |
| CityArts II | “Developing” groups with budgets of $150,000 to $500,000 |
$131,450 |
| CityArts III | “Mid-size” organizations with annual budgets between $500,000 and $2 million |
$133,900 |
| CityArts IV | “Major” institutions with annual income of more than $2 million |
$108,000 |
|
Total |
$497,750 |
|
| Source: Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/dca/DCAReleases/June2010/CityArts2010_Releas.pdf |
||
“CityArts applicants awarded grants in year one are eligible to receive grants for two more consecutive years pending availability of funds.”[2]
Under this option, the City would eliminate funding for Tier IV of the CityArts program, thus saving $108,000.
| Proponents might argue that because there is no cap on the size of the organizations that can get CityArts IV money, large, established cultural organizations receive the funding (see the 2010 list of grantees on the following page). They would argue that it is not necessary for the City to provide general operating subsidies to these large cultural organizations, which already benefit from many of the services the City provides. Also, the amount of the subsidy is so small that these organizations will not be impacted by the loss of the subsidy.
|
Opponents might argue that these subsidies help the City maintain a relationship with these large cultural organizations whose operations are critical to the City’s tourism industry as well as the general enjoyment of the City’s residents. Additionally, many organizations do not have access to general operating subsidies.
Instead of eliminating the funding, some might argue that the program be restructured so that CityArts IV is restricted to institutions whose budget does not exceed a certain level. This would direct the funds to institutions larger than those in the other three tiers, but ensure that very large organizations with large endowments do not receive the subsidy. |
Budget Details
| Dept: Finance General, 099 | Bureau: NA |
| Fund: Municipal Hotel Operators’ Occupation Tax Fund, 0355 | Approp Code: For Professional and Technical Services and Other Third Party Benefit Agreements, 0140 |
| The appropriation is located on page 374 of the 2011 Annual Appropriation Ordinance.
http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/obm/supp_info/2011BudgetOrdinance.pdf |
|
2010 CityArts Tier TV Recipients
|
CityArts IV Recipient |
Grant Amount |
| Adler Planetarium |
$2,000.00 |
| Art Institute of Chicago |
$3,500.00 |
| Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University |
$3,000.00 |
| Chicago Academy for the Arts |
$2,000.00 |
| Chicago Access Corporation |
$3,750.00 |
| Chicago Architecture Foundation |
$3,750.00 |
| Chicago Children’s Choir |
$3,000.00 |
| Chicago Children’s Museum |
$3,000.00 |
| Chicago Historical Society |
$2,500.00 |
| Chicago Humanities Festival |
$3,750.00 |
| Chicago Opera Theater |
$3,750.00 |
| Chicago Shakespeare Theater |
$3,500.00 |
| Chicago Sinfonietta |
$3,000.00 |
| Chicago Symphony Orchestra |
$4,000.00 |
| Chicago Theatre Group, Inc./Goodman Theatre |
$4,000.00 |
| Court Theatre Fund |
$3,500.00 |
| Facets Multi-Media Inc. |
$3,750.00 |
| Hubbard Street Dance Chicago |
$3,750.00 |
| Joffrey Ballet |
$3,750.00 |
| John G. Shedd Aquarium |
$2,000.00 |
| Lookingglass Theatre Company |
$3,500.00 |
| Lyric Opera of Chicago |
$4,000.00 |
| Merit School of Music |
$3,750.00 |
| Museum of Contemporary Art |
$3,500.00 |
| Music and Dance Theater Chicago, Inc. |
$2,250.00 |
| National Museum of Mexican Art |
$3,500.00 |
| Old Town School of Folk Music |
$3,750.00 |
| Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies |
$3,000.00 |
| Steppenwolf Theatre Company |
$4,000.00 |
| Urban Gateways The Center for Arts in Education |
$3,000.00 |
| Victory Gardens Theater |
$3,000.00 |
| WBEZ Alliance, Inc. |
$3,000.00 |
| Window To the World Communications, Inc. |
$2,500.00 |
| Total |
$108,000.00 |
[1] City of Chicago CityArts Program.
http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dca/provdrs/grants/svcs/city_arts_applicationsummary.html
[2] Id.