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Council agrees to refer Civic Arts 'nexus' request to upcoming budget processes
Summary
Councilmember Kesarwani moved to treat the Civic Arts Commission's request as a budget referral so the proposed $125,000 or similar funding can be considered during the November or June budget processes; several commissioners and artists urged the study to preserve arts funding.
Councilmember Kesarwani offered an amendment to item 7 to classify a Civic Arts Commission request as a budget referral, so that consideration of a proposed allocation (discussed at $125,000 in amendments) would be entered into the city’s budget-referral process and considered in November and, if not funded, in the June budget cycle. "I wanted to amend it to just say it's a budget referral for the city council to allocate $125,000," Kesarwani said.
Speakers representing the Civic Arts Commission, longtime commissioners and arts advocates described the Nexus Study as critical to preserving private percent-for-art funding and warned that developer waivers have already reduced funding opportunities for artists and cultural infrastructure. Kimano (a Civic Arts commissioner) and other supporters told the council the study would not deter development but would shore up funding that sustains artists and cultural programming. Several councilmembers agreed to send the referral to be considered during the November packet and, if necessary, the June process. The item was approved on consent with that amendment.
