Posted on August 18, 2012

Fort Worth Arts Council Faces 25 Percent Budget Cut

The Fort Worth city council has proposed a 25 percent budget cut for the Arts Council of Fort Worth and Tarrant County, which disperses taxpayer money to forty-three arts and cultural organizations in the city, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

The latest in a series of cuts since 2009 would reduce the arts council's budget by $266,564, to $799,691 — a nearly 45 percent reduction in funding from five years ago. The council is urging city leaders to maintain its current level of funding by using part of a $10 million surplus in the city's Culture and Tourism Fund, which is funded in part by hotel taxes. The city council is scheduled to vote on the budget on September 18.

Critics of the budget cut argue that a thriving arts industry supports a healthy economy and provides educational and social benefits to the community. A recent report (2 pages, PDF) from Americans for the Arts about the economic impact of the arts industry on Fort Worth found that it employed more than three thousand people and generated $84 million in fiscal year 2010 — including spending by the 24 percent of event attendees who come from out of town.

"There's a great arts product here, but you've got to invest in that product," Randy Cohen, vice president of research at Americans for the Arts, told WFAA-TV. "You can't let the goose that's laying these golden eggs not be fed."