NYS Arts related that Gov. Paterson proposed billions of dollars in spending cuts in the current 2009-10 budget seeking to close a deficit for this year that he projects at $3 billion.
In addition, he also described a dire financial picture for New York as the state faces a deficit of nearly $50 billion over the next three and a half years. Click on the governor's plan, to see the full description of his proposed cuts.
The plan, which needs legislative approval, also includes a $2 billion reduction in spending for the next fiscal year, which starts April 1.
What does this mean for NYSCA?
The final Council meeting for the current fiscal year was scheduled for October. You may recall that in this funding year, NYSCA very wisely reduced the number of Council meetings from 4 to 3, thereby reducing the exposure of local assistance grants that are funded later in the cycle.
The funding available for the final October cycle is approximately $6 million, which could be reduced by $612,000 given the proposed reduction to NYSCA in the Governor's plan. Bottom line: those groups in the third cycle will receive less funding.
This proposed reduction requires legislative approval and at this time there is no date set for the return of the Senate or the Assembly to Albany. So the time is now.
Send this email to your legislators. NYS ARTS has created a letter for you to send to your legislators. Forward this email to your friends and colleagues, members of your Board, ticket holders, and everyone you know who cares about the arts.
Other arts funding news:
There are rumblings that payments on members items contracts may be frozen. More to come as soon as we can confirm. Meanwhile stay in touch with your legislators and keep the pressure on!
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