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ACME says Creative Reset engagement nearing close; staff plans draft cultural-funding guidelines in July
Summary
Office of Arts, Culture, Music & Entertainment staff reported running focus groups, hundreds of survey responses and one-on-one interviews for a Creative Reset of cultural funding; staff aims to present draft guidelines to commissions and council in July.
Office of Arts, Culture, Music & Entertainment (ACME) staff told the Music Commission on June 2 that public engagement for the department’s “Creative Reset” of cultural funding is entering its analysis phase and that draft funding guidelines are expected to be ready for commission review in July.
Morgan Messick, assistant director for ACME, told commissioners the department had hosted multiple focus groups, more than 800 survey responses and 45-plus one-on-one interviews by the last weekly report. “We kicked off our engagement efforts in May…our internal goals are currently being met,” Messick said, summarizing the outreach work and a public dashboard where stakeholders can track input.
Why it matters: ACME is reworking how city cultural funding and grants are administered and how hotel-occupancy-tax (HOT) dollars are directed. Changes could affect eligibility, award sizes and application procedures for the city’s Live Music Fund and cultural-arts grants, and will inform an ordinance update first adopted in 1985.
What staff described: Messick said staff consolidated historic community feedback (2020–2025), conducted benchmarking with peer cities (San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, Nashville, Seattle, Chicago and others), and redlined existing guideline documents. Staff plans to complete analysis by June 5, return draft guidelines to commissions in July and seek City Council consideration on July 24 so funding programs can reopen this fall.
Transparency and process questions: Commissioners asked about an external working group that had been proposed at the program’s outset; Messick said ACME pivoted away from a community working group after conflict-of-interest and eligibility concerns and instead consolidated community input through a public dashboard and one-on-one interviews. Commissioners also asked for ongoing monthly updates and public access to the engagement data; Messick said staff intends to publish sanitized input and a “win/win” report linking specific feedback to proposed guideline changes.
Ending: Commissioners and staff agreed to return to the commission for formal presentation of draft guidelines in July and to keep the public dashboard updated. ACME recommended stakeholders watch the public-input portal for the next weekly report.
