The Wisconsin Arts Board voted to approve its fiscal year 2026 budget on a motion with caveats after board members asked staff to resolve several line‑item questions with the Department of Administration.

Board members said the budget is broadly solvent but asked staff to follow up on an unusually large overhead assessment and a potentially misplaced space‑rental figure before finalizing all entries. The motion to approve the FY26 budget with those remedies carried by voice vote.

Why it matters: The budget sets the board’s grant and operations plan for the year. Unresolved accounting items could affect how much money is available for grants versus central operations and require DOA clarification to ensure funds are allocated and spent in compliance with state rules.

Details of the discussion and follow‑up requests: John (board member) led the finance briefing and said the board is “in pretty good shape” overall but noted one possible exception around operations overhead. George (staff member) and Bill (board member) explained line‑item shifts that produce an overmatch next fiscal year and described how federal and state revenue streams were being tracked across program and operations lines.

Key figures and issues raised on the record:
- An apparent $103,400 increase in the DOA overhead assessment on the budget spreadsheet, far higher than last year’s number and described repeatedly as “odd” by board members; staff said they will ask DOA for an explanation and correction if appropriate.
- A $5,000 addition on the state side for full‑pay apprenticeships that the apprenticeship panel requested so the program could reach a target of 12 apprenticeships, bringing apprenticeship funding to $113,500 on the worksheet.
- A $100,000 state match to recently received federal awards (listed as $75,000 for arts & health funding and $25,000 for the America250‑linked award), which appears on the budget as both state match and other aid depending on column placement.
- A creation & presentation line shown at roughly $629,838 on the worksheet, and a federal breakout that staff described as $432,197 directed to underserved community dollars; staff said DOA separated certain federal and state match lines differently than in prior years.

The board approved the FY26 budget subject to staff resolving with DOA the overhead assessment, the reported space‑rental amount, and any other technical issues that affect the final numbers. Board members emphasized a preference to fix the accounting entries rather than delay grant disbursements.

Next steps: Staff will return with DOA responses and any corrected spreadsheets; the board approved the motion contingent on those remedies. The board’s action authorizes staff to proceed while clarifying the items flagged during the meeting.

Speakers

[{"name":"John","role_title":"Board member","affiliation_type":"government"},{"name":"George","role_title":"Staff member","affiliation_type":"government"},{"name":"Bill","role_title":"Board member","affiliation_type":"government"}]

Authorities

[{"type":"other","name":"Department of Administration (DOA) budget procedures","referenced_by":["John","George","Bill"]},{"type":"policy","name":"NEA guidance referenced by board on program alignment","referenced_by":["Bill"]}]

Actions

[{"kind":"budget_adoption","identifiers":{},"motion":"Motion to approve the FY26 budget with remedies necessary to fix issues with DOA","mover":"John","second":"not specified","vote_record":[],"tally":{},"legal_threshold":{"met":true,"notes":"Standard board majority by voice vote"},"outcome":"approved","notes":"Approval is contingent on staff resolving specific DOA accounting questions (overhead assessment and space rental line) and reporting back to the board."}]

Discussion vs decision

{"discussion_points":["Unexplained $103,400 increase in DOA overhead assessment","How federal and state matches were displayed in creation & presentation lines","Apprenticeship funding adjustment of $5,000 to reach 12 apprenticeships"],"directions":["Staff to follow up with DOA to explain and correct the overhead line and the space rental item"],"decisions":["Approve FY26 budget with caveats to allow staff to resolve identified accounting items"]}

Clarifying details

[{"category":"overhead assessment","detail":"Budget shows a $103,400 increase in DOA overhead assessment compared with prior year; staff to query DOA","value":"103400","units":"USD","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Bill"},{"category":"apprenticeship funding","detail":"$5,000 added on state side to reach 12 apprenticeships, bringing total apprenticeship funding to $113,500","value":"113500","units":"USD","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"George"},{"category":"creation & presentation line","detail":"Worksheet shows creation & presentation at about $629,838, with federal underserved breakout at $432,197","value":"629838","units":"USD","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"George"}]

Proper names

[{"name":"Department of Administration","type":"agency"},{"name":"NEA","type":"other"}]

Community relevance

{"geographies":["statewide"],"funding_sources":["state general purpose revenue","federal grants","program revenue (Woodland Indian arts)"],"impact_groups":["grantee organizations","applicants for grants","underserved communities"]}

Meeting context

{"engagement_level":{"speakers_count":3,"duration_minutes":120,"items_count":1},"implementation_risk":"medium","history":[{"date":"not specified","note":"Budget discussion continued from prior internal reviews; board asked for follow‑up with DOA"}]}

Searchable_tags

["budget","DOA","FY26","grants","apprenticeships"]

Provenance

{"transcript_segments":[{"block_id":"908.67","local_start":0,"local_end":320,"evidence_excerpt":"So George has done an outstanding job of communicating us before as to, our funding sources...this current fiscal year, we should be undermatched. But next fiscal year would be overmatched..." ,"reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"1514.295","local_start":0,"local_end":160,"evidence_excerpt":"I I'll submit a motion, to approve with any remedies that are necessary to, fix different, issues between DOA...All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Hearing none, motion carries.","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]}

Salience

{"overall":0.78,"overall_justification":"Budget approval determines grant funding and operations; board flagged unexplained large overhead assessment that could change grant capacity.","impact_scope":"state","impact_scope_justification":"Budget affects statewide grant programs and operations.","attention_level":"high","attention_level_justification":"Budget approval plus unresolved DOA items require prompt institutional follow‑up.","novelty":0.35,"novelty_justification":"Annual budget approvals are routine, but the unexpected DOA overhead jump is a new concern.","timeliness_urgency":0.72,"timeliness_urgency_justification":"Fiscal year budget must be finalized before grant disbursements; staff was directed to act quickly.","legal_significance":0.45,"legal_significance_justification":"State accounting and DOA assessments can affect compliance and allowable uses of funds.","budgetary_significance":0.80,"budgetary_significance_justification":"Directly controls grant program dollars and operational allocations.","public_safety_risk":0.00,"environmental_impact":0.00,"affected_population_estimate":0,"affected_population_estimate_justification":"Budget affects organizations rather than a specific population count.","decision_deadline":"not specified","policy_stage":"passed","follow_up_priority":8,"follow_up_priority_justification":"Board asked for prompt DOA clarifications; remedy required before final accounting is settled.","fact_check_risk":0.10,"fact_check_risk_justification":"Most numbers taken from budget spreadsheet cited in meeting; DOA explanations required to confirm accuracy.","uncertainty":0.35,"uncertainty_justification":"Unclear cause of overhead increase until DOA responds.","source_diversity":0.30,"source_diversity_justification":"Discussion driven by board finance lead and staff; additional DOA input needed.","stakeholder_balance":0.55,"stakeholder_balance_justification":"Board, staff, and DOA all have roles; applicants indirectly affected.","alert_flags":["large_budget"],"alert_flags_justification":"$103,400 unexplained overhead increase flagged by board."}