What role should county have in filling an arts funding hole? Commissioners disagree.

Mecklenburg County commissioners clashed over their responsibility for covering arts funding shortfalls during their annual retreat Thursday.

As County Manager Dena Diorio probed for options to develop a new framework to support the Arts & Science Council — as well as the arts, on a broader scale — the commissioners largely reignited the same concerns that voters had expressed last November.

The failed sales tax referendum for arts, parks and education would have given a $22.5 million annual funding jolt into the local arts sector. Earlier this month, the ASC announced it may now be forced to slash grant money by 50% if it doesn’t reach fundraising targets.

“I’m here today asking my colleagues to join with me in broadly supporting arts, culture (and) science as a priority,” said Commissioner Susan Harden, who was a major proponent of the sale tax. “I heard time and time again from people: ‘I love arts — I just don’t like the regressive nature of a sales tax.’”

And while some of the commissioners echoed Harden’s pleas to better incorporate arts and science programming into the county’s general budget, others advocated against any such funding mechanism.

Chairman George Dunlap charged Diorio to make a recommendation in the coming months on the level of arts funding the county could realistically support — and how that money should be dispersed among local organizations.

“What about the kid who just doesn’t play sports?” Dunlap asked his fellow commissioners. “Should they have another outlet? Is it possible that arts should be that outlet?”

Diorio said her follow-up to the commissioners would include feedback from Jeep Bryant, the ASC president who’s scheduled to speak during a public policy workshop on Feb. 11.

Funding strategies

Commissioner Mark Jerrell said that any future county support for the arts must take equity into consideration, especially for lower-income residents.

”Another element that I want to see is that the citizenry is not doing the heavy lifting,” Jerrell said. “I think the arts community has to be doing the heavy lifting in carrying the bulk of whatever that ask is.”

Commissioner Pat Cotham proposed a narrower strategy, potentially directing money to a select number of arts groups. That approach, Cotham said, would give the commissioners stronger control over county taxpayer dollars — and help them hold beneficiaries more accountable.

“I would like to see us increase (arts funding) more, but I certainly do not want it to be anything close to what the tax was going to be,” Cotham said.

Yet Commissioner Vilma Leake said she wouldn’t make a commitment to fund the arts until the ASC offered more transparency into its budget. Leake also urged the ASC to explore ways to include and benefit all Mecklenburg County residents.

“What concerns me the most is when these organizations feel like they can come through the county manager and some of you on this board without thinking about the least of those in this community,” Leake said. “I have a problem with it.”

Elaine Powell, the vice chair of the county commissioners, emphasized that her district in north Mecklenburg overwhelmingly rejected the referendum. And countywide, more than 57% of voters opposed the measure at the polls.

“I have very limited support for additional funding,” Powell said. “I just don’t see this as an additional governmental responsibility.”

This story was originally published January 30, 2020 at 5:41 PM.