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Patrick's Budget Cuts Cultural Funding

http://www.mass.gov/governor/pressoffice/portraits/

Democratic Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick delivered his final budget to state lawmakers Wednesday, which proposes increasing spending by 4.9 percent over the current fiscal year.

Governor Patrick’s $36.4 billion spending plan includes increased funding for education, health care and public safety. But an item that may affect the Berkshires is a decrease of $1.5 million in funding for the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Tracie Konopinski is a senior campaign organizer with MassCreative, an agency that advocates on behalf of cultural organizations. She says she is disappointed with the $9.6 million allocated for fiscal 2015.

“His proposal, the $9.6 [million], doesn’t adequately provide for what the creative community needs,” said Konopinski.

According to MassCreative, over the past 25 years, the state’s funding for the creative economy has declined nearly 60 percent. However, last year Patrick announced a tripling in the state’s support of the Cultural Facilities Fund. The announcement means nonprofit arts and cultural organizations can seek competitive grants from an annual total of $15 million for maintenance and new construction. Patrick made a November visit to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass. to make the announcement.

“Having the imprimatur of the public saying ‘This is important to us. This economic, this cultural, this social impact is important to us,’ is its own incentive to encourage private investment,” said Patrick.

Van Shields is the executive director of the Berkshire Museum.

“It would be very detrimental,” Shields said. “We all know that here in the Berkshires the creative economy, and the cultural institutions prominent role in the creative economy, is absolutely critical to our local economy.”

Megan Whilden is the director of cultural development for the city of Pittsfield. She says the cuts will hurt the smaller cultural institutions, as many of the free and community programs they offer are supported by state funds. Whilden says the creative economy is especially important to Gateway cities like Pittsfield that have adjusted their development after the loss of manufacturing jobs. 

“We [Pittsfield] are living proof that these small targeted investments can have big benefits,” Whilden said. “We’ve seen a huge change in the perception of Pittsfield. We now have over half a million people coming to our downtown every year for art, entertainment, festivals and so forth.”

Governor Patrick has been seen by many, including MassCreative, as a supporter of the arts throughout his two terms.

“We, in our time, must do what we can to leave things better for those who come behind us,” Patrick said. “Has been, I think, leaking out of American government for a long, long time and what we, working with the Legislature, have been working so hard to restore. The Cultural Facilities Fund should be seen in that context.”

Last week, MassCreative delivered a petition signed by more than 3,000 people to the legislature asking for a $5 million increase to the Massachusetts Cultural Council budget. Whilden says she is hopeful state lawmakers will hear the concerns of the cultural community.

“We have a state legislature that sees the results in every single district firsthand, whether it’s with the youth, or it’s in their downtown or it’s in their cultural institutions,” Whilden said. “They know the positive effect that that funding has. So I’m confident that, especially our Berkshire delegation will support restoration of the cut and hopefully an increase.”

Democratic State Representative Gailanne Cariddi of North Adams says this is something she will fight for as the budget advances on Beacon Hill.

“That is something that certainly I will work toward to get back in the budget and even more because we really need it up here,” said Cariddi.

Jim was WAMC’s Assistant News Director and hosted WAMC's flagship news programs: Midday Magazine, Northeast Report and Northeast Report Late Edition.
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