“An extraordinary thing happened on Aug. 7,” writes Mark Stryker in Sunday’s (12/30) Detroit Free Press. “A majority of voters in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties voted to tax themselves to keep the financially beleaguered Detroit Institute of Arts from falling into a death spiral. That’s right: People voted for higher taxes to pay for art—they decided it was worth the money. … The museum’s successful tax initiative put an exclamation point on a post-recession turnaround that left Detroit’s cultural sector far stronger at the end of 2012 than at the beginning. The year started with long-term real estate debt threatening to throw the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Michigan Opera Theatre into bankruptcy. … But the DSO reached a deal with its banks in May to retire its $54-million debt. Earlier this month the orchestra launched a 10-year plan to grow earned revenues by 30% and raise a likely minimum of $225 million for operations and endowment. Meanwhile, MOT raised $7.2 million in a six-month sprint to get its debt under control.”
Posted January 2, 2013
