Mural Arts asks City Council for $1.5 million in added operating funds as highway earmark chips away at base budget

Jane Golden, executive director of the Mural Arts Program, told the Philadelphia City Council Committee of the Whole on May 20 that the mayor’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget includes $3,700,000 for Mural Arts but that a $790,000 earmark for highway beautification (I‑95 project) effectively reduces the organization’s general operating funds and imperils several programs.

The request: "We would really love $1,500,000 so that we could do the work we need to do, to keep serving the citizens of the city in the best way we can," Golden said, describing the additional sum as needed to preserve staffing, restorations and community programs as the city prepares for 2026 events.

Why it matters: Golden and Mural Arts staff said the organization’s work combines public art, workforce development and public‑safety interventions. Damon McWhite, director of the restorative justice program, said those programs provide training and community connection for people who are justice‑involved, and stressed the programs’ role in reentry and neighborhood engagement. "We have participants that are here today that are selling artwork that would have never thought of before about themselves being artists," McWhite said.

Mural Arts officials provided several quantitative details. They said the mayor’s FY26 allocation to the program is $3,700,000, that after additions from council their FY25 total reached about $5.2 million, and that a recent midyear transfer added funds in the prior year. Lisa Murch, chief operating officer at Mural Arts, told council that the $750,000 for the Color Me Back program will be provided by the City’s CEO office and therefore is secured for Porchlight’s Color Me Back work, but the $790,000 highway earmark reduces the portion of the base $3.7 million available for other programming.

Program impacts: Officials listed specific consequences if additional operating funds are not provided. According to testimony: - The Guild program, a paid life‑readiness program for justice‑impacted 18‑ to 24‑year‑olds, has a reported one‑year recidivism rate of 6 percent (Mural Arts), compared with a Commonwealth rate cited at 55 percent and a national figure of 65 percent; the Guild would be suspended without sufficient operating funds. - Restorations would be done at a fraction of current levels or could have no restoration budget. - Community projects and the number of placements for artists and participants would drop; Mural Arts said it employs about 250 artists annually and that participants in guild and rec crew programs earned nearly half a million dollars in 2024 with an 85 percent placement rate into jobs or further training.

Selected program examples cited at the hearing: Porchlight’s Color Me Back (same‑day work for people facing housing insecurity), the Guild life‑readiness and rec crew workforce programs (work in recreation centers and restoration), Printmaking by the People (Free Library partnership), a planned float lab at Bartram’s along the Schuylkill River, and a citywide suicide‑prevention mural project at Saint Christopher’s Hospital for Children. The organization reported 81 public art installations and 53 restorations in FY24 and said it dedicated another 50 installations in the first two quarters of FY25; staff said about 30 projects were active at the time of testimony.

Council response and next steps: Multiple councilmembers voiced support for increasing Mural Arts funding. Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, who said he serves on the Mural Arts board, and others encouraged finding ways to “make [the budget] whole.” Councilmember Ketchy Lozada and others discussed the potential to fund two murals per council district (an estimated additional $1 million, based on Mural Arts’ project cost range of $30,000–$80,000 per mural). Several councilmembers also discussed working with graffiti writers to create rotating legal walls as an alternative to repeated cleanups along highways.

Officials framed the highway money as a targeted, restricted allotment: Lisa Murch said the highway funds are designated for that purpose and cannot be used for general operating costs, and that removal of those dollars from the base budget reduces the funds available for restorations, the Guild and community projects.

Formal action at the end of the session was procedural: the committee adopted a recess until the next session on Tuesday in May 2025. There was no formal vote on Mural Arts’ budget request during the hearing; councilmembers indicated they would advocate during the broader budget process.

Mural Arts staff and councilmembers emphasized the group’s blend of public‑art production, workforce development and civic engagement while urging the council to consider restoring operating funds so programs now in place — particularly workforce and restorative justice efforts — can continue.

Ending note: Mural Arts asked the council to consider an additional $1.5 million in operating funds to maintain current staffing, restoration work and workforce programs as the city prepares for 2026 activities. Councilmembers closed the hearing with commitments to press for support during the budget process.