Ohio Arts Council Announces Second Budget Cut For Fiscal Year 2009
by Jaclyn Reynolds
The Ohio Arts Council (OAC) has received a second budget cut for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009. In order to address a projected budget shortfall of over half a billion dollars in the state budget by the end of June 2009, Governor Strickland has directed agencies to implement more than $540 million in cost savings, management strategies, program reductions and efficiencies. This is in addition to the 10 percent cut to FY2008/2009 announced in April 2008. Cuts are required because the Ohio Constitution mandates a balanced budget at the end of each year.
Primary reasons for the proposed reduction (Budget Directive #7 in accordance with ORC 126.05 and Executive Order 2008-01S):
• Economic forecasts and tax revenues show that the state’s projected revenue for FY2009 will not reach the expectations set forth when the budget was enacted in June 2007.
• State revenues have been and are likely to continue to be negatively affected by the poor performance of the economy.
• Medicaid spending trends will exceed original estimates for FY2009.
• Fiscal responsibility is critical to Ohio’s economic vitality and growth.
The most recent budget reduction order required the OAC to apply a 4.75 percent reduction across all four lines of the agency’s budget: personal services, maintenance, equipment and subsidy. This reduces the FY2009 budget appropriation of $11,213,161 by a total of $532,625 for a new appropriation of $10,680,566. The adjusted FY2008/2009 biennial budget of $21,946,065 represents funding near FY1994/1995 budget levels.
The OAC’s primary goal was to minimize the impact this cut would have on grantees. Therefore, this cut was executed in three ways: 1) by reducing programs that had remaining balances, or unallocated funds, 2) by reducing the agency’s administrative budget and 3) by cutting existing grants. Since the cut occurred two months into the fiscal year and a few project grants have been paid in full, not all grants were available to reduce.
The subsidy (grants) line of the OAC’s budget was reduced $427,380. The first cuts were taken from grant programs with remaining balances (unallocated funds). This resulted in differing percentage cuts to different program areas and lower than 4.75 percent reductions on grants already awarded. There were unallocated funds in Individual Artist Grant Programs and Services, Capacity Building, International Partnerships, Arts Innovation and Special Programs.
Cuts to grants:
• Sustainability (over $1.5 million) was reduced by 2.9 percent.
• Sustainability (under $1.5 million) was reduced by 2.9 percent.
• Arts Access was reduced by 2.9 percent.
• Arts Learning—Arts Partnership was reduced by 2.87 percent.*
*The Arts Partnership program reduction is slightly smaller because it was achieved through a combination of grant reductions in Arts Partnership and using unallocated funds in other Arts Learning program areas.
Cuts to Unallocated Funds:
Deeper cuts were made to programs which had unallocated funds. This includes:
• Arts Innovation was reduced by 6.32 percent
• Arts Learning was reduced by 8.34 percent
• Capacity Building was reduced by 15 percent
• International Partnership was reduced by 40 percent
• Individual Creativity was reduced by 18.9 percent
• Special Programs was reduced by 30 percent
Grants to FY09 recipients whose final reports were submitted by September 10, 2008 will not be cut.
The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally and economically.
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