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Arts Commission lays out hotel‑tax ballot measure to restore funding for cultural equity and centers
Summary
Tom DeKaney told supervisors the Arts Commission plans a ballot measure (sponsored by Supervisors Peskin and Tang) to restore a hotel‑tax nexus for arts funding if approved by voters; the proposal budgets $7.1M of new community funding in the two‑year period, contingent on passage.
The committee heard the Arts Commission’s budget presentation and a preview of a proposed November ballot measure to restore a historic hotel‑tax link to arts funding.
Tom DeKaney, Director of Cultural Affairs for the San Francisco Arts Commission, described the ballot‑measure framework sponsored by Supervisors Peskin and Tang as intending to dedicate a portion of hotel tax growth to arts and cultural grants. The proposal would assume a 10% floor/ceiling nexus to hotel tax revenues and a projected 3.4% hotel‑tax revenue growth for the measure’s first fiscal year. DeKaney said the draft ballot measure budgets approximately $7.1 million in new community funding over the two‑year budget period: $2.1 million cumulative for the Cultural Equity Endowment, $1.0 million for four city‑owned cultural centers (Bayview Opera House, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, African American Art & Culture Complex, and SOMA Arts), and a new Arts Impact Endowment ($4.0M over two years).
Supervisors pressed for district breakdowns and parity. DeKaney said staff will follow up with district‑level disbursements and described outreach efforts to expand support to individual artists and underserved neighborhoods, including a Bayview registry for artists and technical assistance workshops.
Because the proposal assumes hotel‑tax growth and voter approval, supervisors and commission staff said the Arts Commission would need to re‑budget if voters did not approve the measure; the Commission and mayor’s budget office will return with district breakdowns and additional details.
