by jon bosworth jaxvillain@yahoo.com
Entertaining U Newspaper is never about politics or opinions, but we are about Jacksonville’s culture, and when that culture is coming under sudden scrutiny, we do feel an obligation to bring you, that North Florida citizen that participates and supports the local culture through patronage of the arts, attendance at art shows, participation in local theater, going to local concerts and so forth, into the discussion. We want you to be informed when political decisions can affect your ability to participate in the things you love. This issue is your opportunity to weigh in, for or against, on something that is certain to be the big discussion around town for the next few weeks.
On June 14th the state legislature came together for a special session to legislate the largest tax cut in Florida’s history. There was no outcry, as far as we in Jacksonville could hear, demanding a tax cut. No one in this community was letting out tortured screams demanding tax relief, yet governor Charlie Crist was insistent on bringing our congress together to pass two components to this tax cut. The first is the statutory reform component, which will take effect on October 1, 2007. As of that day all local governments will have to cut property taxes at a level that is determined by the historical growth of each area.
In Duval County there will be a 3% cut, in St. Johns and Clay Counties there will be a 9% cut, so no one in North Florida will escape unharmed. In the mega-money scheme of city budgets, what does that mean to us locally? Can property owners expect bundles of extra cash at their disposal? No. Actually the cut is described as being equal to one latte from Starbucks a day. But that latte could be purchasing a lot for our community and the culture that defines us. When people discuss this cut, they refer to the programs that will fall prey to the reforms as “quality of life” programs, but “quality of life” doesn’t really thoroughly describe what will be impacted. It isn’t just less live theatre and museums, it will be our local economy that takes the hit. From the businesses that patrons of the symphony and local live theatre spend their money on during a night out, such as restaurants and bars, to the jobs that will be lost, this will have boatloads of peripheral damage, and saying that isn’t just scare tactics. It’s a fact that the Jacksonville Cultural Council can provide the numbers to prove.
The second aspect of the tax cut is the constitutional legislation that will go onto a ballot in January determining the level of the homestead exemption. According to the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce, Duval County stands to lose more than 100 million dollars annually.
One perspective is that these cuts simply take the public’s money out of the government’s hands and puts it back in the pocket of those paying the bill to decide how they want to use it for themselves. So some contend that the money stays here and people can still use it to go see the symphony or contribute it to the cultural or social organizations that they feel passionate about, but most people see the reality of that money going to dinner at Applebee’s or a night at the local megaplex, which translates to those dollars leaving our community and going to companies headquartered outside of our state.
“Close your eyes and think about any great city or civilization. I’ll bet you anything that the picture you come up with is a piece of publicly funded art or architecture. Those are the things that last. At the end of the day, it’s the piece of art on the Riverwalk that will outlast all that stuff and tell an important piece of Jacksonville history that we all share together. It’s very important that everybody has access to it because it belongs to all of us,” said Robert White of the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville.
The gavel is falling in slow-motion right now, but when it hits the surface, it could hit hard. Most of the organizations that receive money from the state are preparing for a worst case scenario, which is a zero contribution to “quality of life” programs, but planning is all tenuous because things could drastically change between now and when Peyton sits down to make up the new budget in July. And things could change even more between then and the city council’s final determination in September.
There are 26 organizations that receive cultural service grants in Jacksonville. The money is awarded through the Jacksonville Cultural Council and there are three tiers of institutions. The level one institutions require more than a million dollars a year to operate. These organizations include Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, The Florida Theatre, Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, Jacksonville Symphony and Orchestra, the Museum of Science and History and WJCT Public Broadcasting. These valuable organizations receive between $275,000 and $461,000. Whereas the Jacksonville Symphony and Orchestra receives more than $436,000, that only represents 5.5% of their 8 million dollar annual operating expense. In the case of The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens, it receives more than $461,000, but that amount represents 16% of their annual operating expenses.
The level two recipients, organizations such as Players-by-the-Sea, Theatre Jacksonville, and various fine arts programs, receive between $23,000 and $108,000 per year. Level three recipients, such as Atlantic Beach Experimental Theatre and the Jacksonville Children’s Chorus, receive between $2,000 and $37,000 per year. By law, none of these organizations can receive more than a quarter of their annual expenses from the government, so it isn’t that the government is necessarily dooming every program that currently receives funding, but ask any business owner if their enterprise could succeed if they lost 25% of their revenue in three months time with no advance warning. Most could not.
Another fallout from this decision is the impact that the loss of funds will have on non-profit organizations. Erik Hart, president of the Florida Theatre, admits that no one will know the full effect until after the Mayor provides the budget, but that in a worse-case scenario, which is a likely scenario based on what Peyton’s offices have already said, the situation is bad. Dire even.
“It’s bad. It’s really bad. We get about 11% of our budget from the city. What we use that money for is to subsidize our overhead so that we can, in turn, serve the non-profits with reduced rental rates. Theatreworks, for instance, pays us pennies to rent the theatre, versus a commercial rock show. The dilemma is a double-whammy. In the worse case scenario, we lose that operating revenue, so we have to make up for that somewhere, but our constituents are going to get clobbered. We’re talking about a lot of smaller arts organizations who are living on the edge anyway, and we are talking about a lot of charitable organizations and social service organizations that we do concerts and benefits for. There’s a lot of peripheral damage. A lot of charitable organizations are really going to suffer and they won’t all be standing after this.”
Another thing to consider, something that was mentioned by almost every person interviewed for this issue of EU, is that the cultural offerings that a city brings to the forefront are how a city is defined. Great cultures throughout history are remembered for their art, not for their road systems or police forces, so culture is, in this sense, the most important thing to a city.
“When we look at cultures we study what they created in the way of art. A city without that dynamic is not going to be able to grow as it should,” said Alan Hopper of the Jacksonville Symphony and Orchestra (see more of that interview further in this feature).
“We like to say that Jacksonville is a Super Bowl City, we take a lot of pride in it, but we didn’t get that because of the potholes we filled in, we got that because we have a beautiful city with a beautiful river and a robust cultural climate. We achieved the level of a Super Bowl City because of all of the work of these non-profit organizations and cultural organizations. We won’t be able to stand up and say that of ourselves after this because we won’t be that city,” said Amy Crane, the deputy director of The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville.
The real question is, would you rather have a latte from Starbucks everyday or a free night at the Cummer? Would you prefer a dinner at Applebee’s once a week, or to show your out-of-town visitors a beautiful city that can compete with any of the other great American cities. That latte is worth a lot.
by jon bosworth jaxvillain@yahoo.com
Probably the most visibly affected and most aware of the implications of the current tax reform to Jacksonville is the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville. Headed by the Executive Director, Robert White, and the Deputy Director, Amy Crane, this is the local arts agency that serves as a funding umbrella for cultural organizations. The dollars that they award are the very dollars that the mayor is currently planning on cutting off. We aren't talking about random little organizations that put scandalous plays on little stages, the Cultural Council has their hand in the success of some of Jacksonville's favorite institutions, including MOCA Jacksonville, the symphony, and so much more. But the concern doesn't end with their immediate cultural awareness as far as arts are concerned, they are also concerned about the loss of valuable non-profit organizations and the impact all of this will have on our community.
"Pending the outcomes that come down from the state, it looks like all public service grants would be zeroed out. I think what they were looking at at that time is exactly what has come to be. We're working with the mayor and city council to look very creatively about how we are able to move our city forward without unduly impacting the quality of life. The best case scenario is that there will be some cuts on some level. Those cuts will translate to a loss of jobs, loss of programs, and in a worse case scenario, a loss of institutions, and I'm talking about, perhaps in some cases, flagship institutions," Said White.
So the affect will be tangible and we can expect to see plenty of fallout, including programs that will disappear altogether.
"I'm not so much concerned about programs as I am about access, especially access by vulnerable constituents. Because of the level of funding that a lot of these organizations receive, you are able to buy a ticket at a certain price, without that funding the price goes up and so access to that program becomes more limited. Also as a function of receiving public money, we require agencies to make their programs available to families, children, less fortunate people. I'm concerned that the only people able to take advantage of the artistic opportunities that exist here will be the people that can afford to pay top dollar for it."
These are the standard concerns and the direct results of the legislation, but the reciprocal affects include myriad details that most people haven't even considered yet. After all, the legislation was just passed last Thursday. But White and Crane have spent a valuable amount of time considering those details.
"I think that art is our most important community-building tool. What art does, and especially public pieces, is make a statement about the traditions and values that we share together and the aspirations that we hold dear together. That is the thing that identifies a community and defines what is unique about it."
Everyone likes things that are free, but the reality is that nothing is free.
"It's just like anything else, it costs money to produce it, it costs money to maintain it, and it costs money to provide access to it. This is important stuff and it just so happens that it costs money."
For those that think this is an issue about government handouts, it is not. It's an investment in the future of our city.
"I hear a lot of people talking about public service grants, and some public service officials have said we need to get out of that business, but the reality is that the art and culture industry is actually a driver of economic development. We have numbers to support the fact that when the city makes an investment in arts and culture, it generates money for the community. It's not a handout, it's an investment.… It is a contribution that helps sustain our local community. The non-profit sector as a whole is an efficient way to deliver services to our city, which saves the city money," said Crane.
"We hear a lot of people talk about public safety and protection, I would submit to you that the fact that there are vibrant activities going on downtown at night contributes to public safety. The lights are on, people are moving around and it makes for a much safer environment," added White.
Adding flame to the fire is the fact that not only are budgets getting cut, they are getting cut quick. Most plans would afford at least a year to reorganize and reshape their plans, slowly allowing organizations to switch their methodology while incrementally decreasing the revenue stream. In this scenario, however, as soon as the new budget is delivered in September the damage will be done and until then all anyone can do is plan for a worse case scenario.
"Bear in mind that these dollars are used to leverage other dollars. Every organization has to come up with three dollars for every public dollar that is invested in them. In many cases, those dollars are going to come from places that require public funds to be in place," said White.
There is a sentiment, one that was voiced by Alan Hopper in this issue, that the money is staying in the community, it is just going into the pockets of the property owners. But when companies that are headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama or Dallas, Texas learn that people in Florida will have more money to spend, they will market their products and services to target those dollars, sending the money out of state.
"That is a piece where the legislation is absolutely flawed. Tens of millions of dollars are going to go flying out of this state," said White.
"What I dread thinking about is that this could create a scenario where flagship institutions and key programming is completely lost and people mourn that loss. For a small investment, relative to the entire budget, because we are talking about less than ¼ of one percent of the entire city budget, when they feel that loss or realize that loss, these organizations will not be able to bounce back and become as vibrant as they are today. We are losing out on years and years of dedicated work. In the blink of an eye these can go away. People will realize that these groups provided essential services that they really value, but once they are gone, they can't just be revived. Once the cuts are made we can't just turn the lights back on. We are losing years and years of progress that these organizations have worked very diligently to achieve.
"When you think about a latte a day, its arts, culture and all of those services. If you look at the recipients of all of the public service grants you'll be surprised to see the diversity of interests that they serve. It's from crime prevention services, victim's services, programs for children and families, homeless, its on and on. And that isn't even considering the arts and culture organizations. That latte does a lot." added Crane.
The statutory portion of the legislation can be rescinded in our own county if two thirds of the city council will vote down the rollback. So if you are worried about losing this funding, the time to get active is now.
"Ten [city council members] are new members with no voting record. It's so tricky because there are so many unknowns. Who are the people, what are their properties? To what degree are they hearing from the property owners?" White asks.
Be vocal to your council members and let them know how you feel about local issues. This is the perfect opportunity to get involved. To find your council member, go to coj.net or review the list we have provided. Regardless of what happens politically, the only way to be sure that the artistic things you are interested in stick around, is to support those organizations with your dollars.
by erin thursby scopes1925@msn.com
“Property tax reform and reduction sounds great. I’m a homeowner myself. Ask anybody, would they like their taxes cut—who the heck wouldn’t, but we have to think: what is the price?”—Joe Schwarz
Executive Director Joe Schwarz of Players by the Sea is passionate and well-informed about the effect the impending cuts to arts and culture in the area. Though it’s hard to put a price on theatre and art, Schwarz does his best to quantify that price in terms of dollars and cents for the hard-nosed economically minded folks, who look at art in terms of investment.
EU: Are you budgeting for a complete cut of funding from the government?
JS: I have two budgets, one where it’s not gone (but we don’t think that’s going to happen) and then I have a budget if it is gone…We’re going to try to make it up with private donations but the problem is that if that money is gone…for all the arts organizations in Jacksonville…we’re all going to have our hands out and there’s only so much [private] funding to go around…We will survive it one way or another…but there are organizations that won’t…What I think is the most important point to make is that the people who will be impacted are the people who can afford it the least. The after-school programs are going to have to lay-off staff.
EU: As both a homeowner and a theatre director, what’s your position on the tax cuts and their effect?
JS: …I think it was Thomas Paine who once said ‘Taxes is the price we pay for a civilized society.’ If we want to have a library…the arts and culture, care of the homeless and things like that—we have to pay for it…It’s not free. That’s what my position is. I don’t see where my property taxes will be reduced significantly enough that it would make up for loss of services…Also locally, the 3.7 million dollars that we’ve invested in cultural organizations made an impact of 131 million…Now that’s a really good investment, so why would you want to cut something with a return that good.
EU: Art tends to bring money and business to a city, sometimes in ways that aren’t immediately apparent
JS: That’s one of the reasons that we were able to host the Super Bowl, because we were able to make infrastructure and quality of life improvements to the city…The art and cultural options that we have, it’s one of the things that companies look at when they want to re-locate to Jacksonville.
EU: Economically, people are just not seeing how much this can affect Jacksonville. For example, theatre-goers tend to make an evening of the theatre; going to dinner, spending money on drinks afterwards…
JS: Absolutely. Here’s a very interesting fact…statewide the figures reach 2.9 billion for the cultural impact…7 million people, out of state tourists, going to the Cummer or the Florida Theatre, 7 million out of state people traveled to Florida to attend specific arts and cultural events. That accounted for 1.5 billion in tourism dollars in hotels, dinners…maybe they rented a car.
EU: Maybe during the day they went to 5-Points, bought some clothes…
JS: Maybe went to 5-points or San Marco, maybe even to a Suns game…
EU: So how has Players by the Sea given back to the community here? I know you have various programs…
JS: We scholarship young adults on a talent and need basis. We do give out free tickets…So we do, and a lot of this is possible because we have the money in our budget…but if that gets cut, well—the things we give away will be the things we have to look at first. I’m not saying all of it but…
EU: It does limit possibilities. Would you say the money from the Cultural Council enables you to do shows that might not necessarily be a box-office draw, but are more forward thinking?
JS: Yes and no. The funding that I get is about 18% of my budget. Now that’s significant, I am not minimizing it, but it’s not a huge consideration. What’s going to happen is that my programming choices will be more limited…I would not have done Suburbia, a show that had limited, narrow appeal, but it was an important show to be done.
EU: What do you say to the folks who believe that a theatre should stand completely on its own through ticket sales?
JS: They’re entitled to their opinion. That’s a valid argument but unfortunately, when you look at any civilization, either in the present or through history, what defines that civilization or even city, is their art and culture, be it their art or architecture or music. When you think of Greece you think of the Parthenon…When you think of Rome you think of frescos, of their art. So funding our art is very important to our country and our city.
by donald dusinberre imartsyfartsy@gmail.com
Money in our pockets. It sounds good when you describe the new property tax cuts that way. It sounds real good.
But the issue is much broader than we realize. When we decrease the revenue stream from one area of the budget, money has to be taken from somewhere else in the budget. There is always a price to pay, and this time, we'll be paying for the extra cash in our pockets with a decline in the arts, recreation, entertainment and community services.
We hear about this stuff sometimes, but we never make a real connection to what it can mean for us. As an entertainment-based periodical, EU Jacksonville decided to find out just what the new property tax cuts would do to the arts and entertainment programs in our city.
We conducted an interview with A. Maria Haynes and Hope McMath of the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens and asked them to explain what's going to happen to our city's most prestigious museum. The prognosis does not look good. Says McMath: "Unfortunately, the worst-case scenario was the most likely scenario."
EU: What percentage of the Cummer's operating cost does state funding cover?
Haynes: Last year, through the cultural council, we were funded with $461,000. There is also other revenue that comes in from other agencies or other partners who also get public service funding. We are estimating about a $500,000 impact on our operating budget, and the $461,000 accounts for about 16 percent of our operating budget. It's very significant.
EU: When will the funding cuts begin to have an impact on the Cummer?
McMath: If the city is to do what they've indicated (with the public service grants), which is to zero those out, that funding cycle begins October 1st. But I think we can clearly say the impact would begin sooner than that, in that plans are laid in place and decisions have to be made.
Haynes: For instance, the funds for programs that wouldn't get implemented until next year…they wouldn't get planned now.
McMath: So we're delaying the planning of a lot of things we would normally already be kicking into action. Things are on hold. Is it the death knell for some of our programs? That's still a 'wait and see'…that won't happen until the fall.
EU: What impact do you think these funding cuts will have on our community's cultural core?
McMath: What's sort of interesting is that we can say (the funding cuts are) impacting the Cummer as an institution, but you're talking about us providing true community work. This isn't about just who's walking into our door. If we're not going into classrooms, there's going to be a negative impact on the school system. If we don't have a partnership with DA anymore, then that's one less community-based program that students have exposure to.
I think in the area of the work we do with people with disabilities, that's probably going to be felt the deepest. The Cummer is THE art department for The Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine. The state will not pay for an art teacher in the blind school because they think children who can't see don't need art. We've been the art department for about five years in a very intense yearlong program where we have impact on 150 kids without sight. By losing that program, there isn't anyone else who will step in to do that program cause there isn't anybody else who can step in and do that program. Some of these programmatic cuts we're seeing; for those that are being served, it is an essential service and there's not anybody that's going to be able to plug that gap.
Haynes: It's all so completely intertwined and interdependent that if you remove what have now become basic services, then there is nothing left. So, it's not just trimming the fat, it's removing the meat from the table. There is no meat left; you only get the side.
There are a lot of people who are giving their time to make something that is a national model happen in this community. And, not only are the children we serve going to lose that opportunity, but the people that come together to make it happen will now no longer be a part of what we do.
McMath: If we look at the adult audiences that we serve outside of our walls, we run several arts and healthcare programs. If these cuts happen, those arts and healthcare programs are gone. That's where we work at the bedside, bringing art and quality of care into the healthcare system at three local medical facilities. That's going to go away. And one of them in particular, we work with frail seniors and patients with Alzheimer's. That's not an environment that's easy for most people to go into, and we focus on the quality of that end-of-life experience. It's not sexy work, and yet we've been doing that program for seven years now.
Yes, we're going to see an impact within our own institution, but just within that short list, look at the partners where we are, again, providing a program that the reason we're there is because they can't provide it.
EU: What sort of changes might a Cummer visitor expect?
McMath: Specific to our Cummer audience, we're going to have to cut programs, everything from classes and lectures and workshops for adults. We're also going to have to trim our operating hours, which means access to us is going to be limited… (including) the loss of our two free 'Family Days'. That's two thousand family members that may not have the opportunity to visit the Cummer. They are our most diverse audience for all the programs we offer.
Haynes: There will be things that they probably will begin to detect. One of the commitments that we want to live as closely to as possible is that there will be the least impact on the visitor. We provide what we provide and it's a huge value to the community when you walk in the door. But the reality is they'll see the deterioration of the gardens. They will see less exhibition design. The more exciting, the more interactive, the more interpretive the exhibition design is, of course the more money it is. So when you slash those budgets, you get bare minimum, you get zero interpretation. That's one of the things we are strongest in is connecting the people with the art, and that's what's going to suffer for the visitor who walks in. It gets reduced down to the art on the wall, and the connected piece is what is sacrificed for the visitor.
McMath: One of the reasons we're cutting as many programs as we are is that whatever remains on line must be the absolute highest quality it can be with whatever resources we have. We've always been committed to that and we will continue to be. But that means that rather than continuing to try to do more programs and do them all lesser, we're preserving what is our core, which is our art collection, our exhibition schedule, our interactive facility, and our school tour program. We're still going to be doing good work, but the innovation of what we do, the ability to bring in niche audiences, the ability to attract a more diverse audience because we have a more diverse way of providing the arts experience, those are the things that will be lost.
Haynes: Taking the art outside of the walls of the museum, the outreach will be sacrificed. There will be a loss of instruction to 1,200 classroom teachers who use the arts to teach those core, standards-based curriculum, like math, reading, and writing. We will be forced to eliminate our partnership with Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, teaching in-depth stewardship for the teachers and students for the arts in the community. That's the kind of impact you're going to feel in five more years, when we let, not just what the Cummer provides, but all those different social services and cultural services start to deteriorate.
McMath: The outreach is where the cuts are probably going to be deepest and where those individuals are definitely going to feel it. We're really committed to whatever happens within the institution, that we maintain the quality of whatever it is we have, whether it's fewer exhibitions but still trying to do them the best we can within our resources.
EU: Will the cuts affect the way exhibits are curated? Will you tend to gravitate toward more popular exhibits like the Egyptian exhibit and other events that will draw in more people?
Haynes: Exhibits that draw people in more are also more expensive. So the focus will be on our amazing permanent collection. We'll be emphasizing, focusing on and working with what the permanent collection is and working with it in different ways. We have 120-130 pieces on the walls downstairs right now, but we have a collection of almost 6,000 pieces, so there is a lot to draw from. It's really a quality collection that we have now. So, you'll see us focus more on our permanent collection and what we have rather than the big draws. Those are very exciting, and not that we don't have special exhibitions scheduled now because we do, but that will probably be less of a strategy.
McMath: What you'll see is that, for example, next year, we have two exhibitions that are remaining on the schedule that are sort of powerhouse exhibits. One is of Roman art from a town that was buried at the same time as Pompeii and Herculaneum. It's really great, world-class stuff. What it means though, for our exhibition schedule next year, to maintain those two sort of big important shows, the smaller shows that are either more intimate or deal with subjects that may challenge some of our visitors, or exhibitions that help complement the larger exhibits, those are the ones that we're losing. So the layering of art, from the permanent collection to the big show; those smaller shows in between is what we're going to lose.
Haynes: That speaks to the experience of the visitor, when you have two or three shows that complement each other and take the experience to a much deeper level. And a lot of those smaller, more niche type of shows, are also the shows that help us diversify our audience and provide something for audiences that maybe we don't have already or that aren't part of our mainstay. That's part of the community impact as well.
EU: Without the funding, will you really be forced to cut all these things, or is there a way to get the funding from elsewhere to keep up that activity?
Haynes: The public service grant dollars go to operating funds, which are the most difficult to fundraise for. Nobody wants to give you money to turn your lights on; they want to fund a program or fund a fellowship or a position. But, just for general operating dollars, those are pretty much irreplaceable funds.
McMath: I would agree and right now, the programs we just listed are among the ones that are going to be cut. Will there be opportunities, as we go through this process, for new dollars? They're going to be very difficult to get. As an institution, and I'm assuming other organizations are doing the same thing, we have had to prioritize what to cut. It also means we're prioritizing what we might be able to bring back as financial resources may become available. But when you're dealing with cuts that are this deep, somebody writing a check for $2,000 for art materials isn't going to bring back a program because the majority of our programs don't run on materials, they run on people.
Haynes: You start layering all of that together and a penny becomes a dollar in no time at all. It becomes a very powerful impact overall on the community. I don't even like using this term, but the quality of life that we have here and the lifestyle that we've become accustomed to here in Jacksonville is changing, and I think it's going to change the culture of Jacksonville when you start to layer multitudes of impacts.
McMath: When I think about the cuts we're going to have to make or the losses we're going to experience, this idea of arts and culture being just arts and culture, is where I think the weak side of the argument is as far its validity. We have seen through a lot of our programs, and a lot of the other cultural organizations that are doing really great work in this area, that we're using the arts in the community to help transcend community problems. Whether it's partnering with Clara White Mission to change the experience for people who are there having to get their midday meal, or if it's going into hospice care to try to make end-of-life experiences more palatable for the family members who might be there, a lot of people consider that extremely essential. That's not a frill, and when you can teach a child to read because the arts are a part of that experience and it makes them want to read, the value of all of what the non-profit sector does is so linked together. With every program we're cutting, you're going to see the problem multiply.
by erin thursby scopes1925@msn.com
Theatre Jacksonville has been part of our cultural landscape since the 1930’s when it first opened. In 1972 the community theatre was declared Jacksonville’s “official theatre” by mayoral proclamation. These days the mayor is proclaiming something different--that they should prepare for the worst. It, like most other theatre organizations on the First Coast, gets a percentage of their budget from Cultural Council funding. Because that funding comes entirely from State property taxes which have just been lifted, Theatre Jacksonville is preparing to weather the cuts. EU got the chance to speak with Theatre Jacksonville Executive director Sarah Boone about the looming cuts.
EU: What do you say to those who believe that theaters should stand completely on their own through ticket sales?
SB: I think that if you were to poll any arts organization, tickets that earn income never make up 100% of the expenses in that kind of organization…Yes, we have to compete in the market, certainly…If we were to put…bad shows on, our box office income would be affected…There’s always cause and effect. You have to put out a good service and a good product, but what people don’t understand is the actual cost of doing all this is going to trickle down to ticket prices. They’re going to have to be willing to put up more for tickets to get what they’re getting now for less.
EU: Do you work with different places to get the materials you net for sets and such?
SB: All of the theatres borrow from each other when they need to…[but] the trickle down effect is going to be tremendous. Vendors that we use, when we start cutting back on our budget…those vendors are going to get hit.
EU: But Theatre Jacksonville will survive…
SB: There are places that are going to be hit harder. Right now…economically we’re very strong. This is going to hit us [in a] huge [way], but will our doors close? No. Any organizations that are struggling at the moment [for them] this is going to have a far greater impact…People think funding for the arts is a bad thing but this is not just a gradual weaning off of public funds, it’s a total cut.
by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
All the ballyhoo about the property tax cuts proposed by Governor Crist came to an abrupt conclusion on Thursday, June 14th, when the state legislature approved the tax cut package. In a speech two weeks before the final vote, Mayor Peyton called the $170 million local budget cut tantamount to the 1901 fire.
Despite strong lobbying by a Jacksonville delegation, the governor got his massive statewide property tax cut through the legislature with few changes. The so-called super-homestead-exemption provision will be a voter issue on the January 29, 2008 ballot.
The short and long-term ramifications of this tax cut will vastly reduce the cultural quality of life in Jacksonville. The voters who elected Charlie Crist Governor will have to ask themselves, “Is it worth paying less property tax to live in a city stripped of its cultural soul?”
To attract more high-tech companies to the city, Peyton presented an attractive package to various corporations, touting a progressive city with great schools and a rich cultural life. Now, his pitch has been deflated.
To find out how this new tax cut will affect a specific non-profit, I called Mike Davis, director of the River City Band. Mike, in fact, is resigning from the RCB, effective June 30, to go back to work for Disney and teach at the University of Florida. However, Mike will still help the band in any way he can, although he admitted that the tax cut will cause some cultural organizations to fold.
“We get much of our funding through writing grants. Because we are the Official Band of Jacksonville, we get funds from the City for special events like the Mayor’s Older Buddies, the Memorial Day at the Wall, etc. The Snyder Building situation was caused by a cut in our funding. As a result, the money we were going to get for the historical restoration was cut. That’s when we had to find another headquarters for the band. I stepped up to the plate and took over as both Executive Director and Band Director. We then found more money by writing grants and using our official status as the Florida State and City of Jacksonville Band to get funds.”
“Of course, I started booking more paying gigs to offset the loss of funds. We just got creative. As you know, the RCB is highly regarded among band directors and musicians, and has played important concerts around the country. Not only is this band unique, but our members are nationally respected musicians and music educators. So, I truly believe in this band and will do everything I can to support it from Orlando.”
“The passage of the property tax cut will push some non-profits over the edge. The RCB will probably be okay. It’s just unfortunate for the City of Jacksonville’s culture; quality of life will suffer. Diantha Grant has taken over the RCB as Executive Director. She is well qualified to run the business end of the band. She comes from a background of running non-profits successfully. Presently, we are interviewing for the Director’s position.”
“Although I will be busy with my job at Disney and teaching at UF, I will be helping the RCB in any way I can. It’s a first class big band that has impressed many top people in the band business. Clearly, the non-profits in Jacksonville will be running scared and the property tax cut will have a negative effect on the quality of life in Jacksonville and all over the state,” Mike said.
That concluded our chat. The tax cut looms as a dark cloud over the city. When the dust clears, we may be living in Cowford once again.
by jon bosworth jaxvillain@yahoo.com
This past season the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, arguably the most visible cultural organization in the River City, received $436,000 from the Cultural Council. That number is large, for certain, but it only represents 5.5% of their overall budget.
“We have had some good years, with big increases in revenue lines, substantial increases in individual giving and ticket sales, but our expenses have increased significantly as well, so this year we do have a deficit.”
Alan Hopper is the executive director of the Jacksonville Symphony, although not as visible as Fabio or the musicians that perform, he is the one that makes everything work behind-the-scenes, from budgets to fiscal reporting, so the decisions made in Tallahassee last week will come straight to his desk.
“I have started working on a budget that assumes the worst case, which is zero dollars, but in our case the money we receive from the cultural council is between 5 and 6% of our total budget. It’s big in dollars, but other organizations may lose more than 60% of their funding.”
Hopper is quick to point out that Tallahassee is simply reducing the amount of the community’s money that it will assign to different organizations. The money still remains in the community, especially in the pockets of the citizens of Jacksonville, so the hope is that the people of Jacksonville will spend that money on the things that benefit our city the most. First and foremost, art and culture.
“The positive thing of all this is that that money is still in the community. It’s not like the 67 million dollars is not going to flow into Jacksonville, it’s here. It’s at the discretion of the members of the community to invest that in the community in ways that they see fit or invest it in their own needs. So it presents a different type of challenge. It’s not like a huge repression that goes through some cities and the money is not there. In our case it’s a little different. It’s still a challenge, but I like to look at the positive side of what we have to do.
“The reality is that if they value these things, they can certainly, within their own budgets, define how they contribute to organizations that they value, organizations that they think are valuable and they enjoy.”
The symphony is not currently in jeopardy of going away because of this cut, the tax money they receive is only 5.5% of their operating budget, but it is a loss of funds, which means that they will have to change how and what they provide to the community.
“We are in a deficit situation already. Income is not meeting expenses. We are looking at how we can make adjustments to increase budgets and reduce expenses.”
According to Hopper, orchestral organizations around the country are facing similar challenges, it is not currently the most lucrative industry in entertainment, so these are challenges that they are somewhat accustomed to, but there are implications that come with cutting funding to one of the largest cultural organizations in the city.
“What if half of those cultural organizations just couldn’t manage? What affect does that have on the city and the city’s ability to present itself as one of the next great cities in America? Those are challenges that are far-reaching. Jacksonville is growing up very fast and doing a great job of that. This could set that back. When you think of New York, what do you think of? You think of entertainment. It’s Broadway, it’s the Met, it’s the New York Philharmonic, the gazillion clubs that have jazz and popular music playing.”
The important thing is not to take a political side that is based on some disconnected ideology about government spending, but to take this opportunity to take the reins of your money and your access to your city council member. Let them know what you think of the decisions they make on your behalf, no matter which side you stand on. It is also a wake-up call that the things you cherish and are passionate about may not be around forever without citizen input.
“I think there is a sense of ownership that might be missing a little bit in Jacksonville, people need to step forward and really take ownership of organizations they enjoy and be involved…Any community needs to be more involved with their local politics. Hopefully this initiative will bring people closer to local politics. Every voice is important.”
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