April 16, 2003

Advocacy Alert

Critics are targeting arts funding for budget cuts.

This is a media assault that demands a response from the arts community.

Newspaper articles in Rochester, Utica, Albany and New York City are taking aim at the New York State Council on the Arts for cuts to help ease the $11.5 billion State budget gap.

Please send letters to the editors of your local newspapers. Or ask to be a guest columnist. Describe the impact of State government support of the arts on your community, your town, or your city. Address economic impact, quality of life concerns, cultural tourism attractions, educational impact on future generations. Cite any projects and programs that will resonate in your community.

Don't forget that your board members can be powerful and influential local spokespeople. Those volunteer arts leaders often have close ties to the business and political community. Ask them to write letters to the editor too.

Also, forward this to arts advocates in your community and urge them to send letters to your local newspapers. The more people that respond, the more likely our voices will be heard.

It is important that this be a local response sent to local papers.

To make it easy to send an email or letter to your local media, you can use the media guide Americans for the Arts Web site. Simply enter your zip code or select NY state on the map. Type in your message and your contact information. Request that a copy be sent to your email address.

Then send a copy of the letters or emails you write, or the article that appears in the paper, to your legislators in their district office. Include both the Senate and the Assembly in this mailing. Please forward a copy to us as well. If you need the local district and email addresses, use the links on the left.

The article that we see re-appearing in various guises in various cities quotes Edmund J. McMahon, a senior fellow for Tax and Budgetary Studies at the Manhattan Institute. He is suggesting that arts grants should be reduced to the current 50-state average of $1.22 per capita and thereby save $21 million.

In the Governor's budget, the New York State Council on the Arts budget is slated for a 15% cut for grants to the field, or $6.6 million. This will reduce the budget to $37.4 million from $44 million. Administration or State Operations was cut from $5.296 million to $5.1 million, a reduction of $196,000 or 3.7%.

Update on the State Budget Negotiations

On Tuesday the Senate and Assembly leaders announced a joint agreement to spend $1.9 billion more than was proposed in the Governor's budget of $90.8 billion. They were not specific about where the money would go (except to give a general indication to health care, schools and higher education) or where it would come from. Neither discounted the possibility of vetoes by the Governor, or a veto override by the legislature. To avoid that, it has been said that they may attempt to construct the budget in new ways that will make it difficult for the Governor to do line item vetoes.

Speaker Silver and Majority Leader Bruno said they hope to have a budget plan by April 28 when the Legislature returns from an Easter/Passover break.

The Alliance of New York State Arts Organizations has a 28-year history as New York's primary service association for community based arts and cultural organizations. The Alliance provides leadership and vision, and delivers services, resources and tools that strengthen community cultural organizations. The Alliance monitors, informs and mobilizes the field on statewide and national issues affecting the arts and assists local arts agencies in building community support and developing effective grassroots public policy.

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Mattituck, NY 11952-0096
Phone (631) 298-1234 / Fax (631) 298-1101