![\"\"](\"https:\/\/img.lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/10111620\/0907-ART_05.jpg\")
With both a public and private collection to care for in temperature- and humidity-controlled vaults, \u201cextra security in place and a large insurance bill,\u201d the built-in costs of running the museum run to a couple hundred thousand dollars a month, Nelson said.<\/p>\n
Still, his initial reaction to the proposed cuts was that it was “appropriate,\u201d and not all that shocking, since, in the arts, \u201cwe\u2019re used to being poor, we know how to act.\u201d<\/p>\n
Separate from the General Fund, the city’s Special Advertising and Promotion Fund supports the arts, special events as well as the Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau and is largely funded by the transient occupancy tax on hotel stays. But with travel and tourism at a historic low, so is the fund.<\/p>\n
“That hotel tax went to almost zero for a little while, and now as we look at the trend it’s down about 38%, so it was a huge loss of revenue,” Modica said. “It is a dire situation in [special promotion fund] and we’ve had to, unfortunately, make some corrections to get that back in balance.”<\/p>\n
The CVB, which books convention business and often contributes to events such as the POW! WOW! mural festival, is looking at a $450,000 cut, with a remaining budget of $4,608,676. The Arts Council is projected to see a $25,215 cut in its budget with a remaining amount of $479,085.<\/p>\n
“Since I\u2019ve been at the Arts Council we\u2019ve been increasing city support, so this does take us back maybe one fiscal year,” said Arts Council Executive Director Griselda Suarez.<\/p>\n
That $25,215 is about what the Arts Council spends on community outreach, Suarez said, including events such as the monthly LB Art Walk in Downtown Long Beach, programming at the East Village Arts Park, as well as public art exhibitions.<\/p>\n Because of the pandemic, and like so many other entities, the Arts Council pivoted to organizing virtual programming in place of in-person events and has spent at least $25,000 transitioning much of its community outreach online. Whether the organization will be able to continue those programs remains to be seen. Still, Suarez remains hopeful.<\/p>\n “It’s this weird situation where the CARES program will be released soon, at least how the city\u2019s going to tackle that, and we know that $1.5 [million] has been set aside for arts, it\u2019s just a matter of how it\u2019s being programmed,” Suarez said. “I really do think we could make that [$25,215] up.”<\/p>\n The $1.5 million from the CARES Act allocation will go directly to support arts organizations impacted by COVID-19, including the LBMA and Long Beach Symphony. They’re all eligible for funding, Modica said.<\/p>\n More information on programs and how arts organizations can access the funds will be made available in the next couple of weeks when they\u2019ll have an opportunity to fill out an application, “a pretty easy one,” Modica added.<\/p>\n With the Measure B funds, it will be up to the Arts Council to discuss what organizations will receive the projected $841,500, while the Convention Center will receive the other half. In a February 2019 resolution, the City Council stated that there were nine organizations that “may benefit<\/a>” from Measure B.<\/p>\n https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/the-one-percent-how-will-measure-b-help-long-beachs-art-community<\/p>\n That number “would have been higher had hotels not been affected by COVID,” Modica said.<\/p>\n As far as the Percent for the Arts Program, which takes a one percent fee from new developments to invest in the arts, the first funds of which were seen in Fiscal Year 2019<\/a>, Modica said they’re estimating that number will be around or lower than $170,000.<\/p>\n https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/1-million-in-grants-awarded-to-long-beach-arts-groups<\/p>\n Though Modica acknowledged that, in decades past, there was less emphasis on the importance of funding the arts, he said the past five years have seen the city rededicate itself to prioritizing arts funding.<\/p>\n “In these times, it’s more important than ever to invest in culture,” he said. “Arts are clearly a priority.”<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/img.lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/10103908\/05_Ent_TRC_05.jpg\")