“Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is seeking legislative approval for a November referendum to dedicate a sales tax to arts funding,” writes Scott Freeman on Wednesday (3/14) at ArtsATL.com. “A coalition of over a dozen Atlanta arts organizations have drafted a proposal on how to disperse funds that would be raised by a proposed fractional sales tax dedicated to funding arts in the city…. In his February 2 ‘state of the city’ address, Reed said that arts funding is critical to Atlanta…. Reed has noted that many smaller nonprofit arts groups are in constant struggle…. Georgia ranks 48th in the nation in government funding for the arts…. The proposal offered by the arts groups [suggests] a four-tier system.” The first tier would be for those with annual budgets more than $15 million; tier two for those between $1 million and $15 million; tier three between $100,000 and $1 million; and tier four for individual artists, groups with small budgets and non-arts organizations. “No organization with a budget over $50 million would receive money from the fractional tax. The Woodruff Arts Center, however, would be eligible for funding for its individual organizations: the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Alliance Theatre and the High Museum of Art.”
Posted March 17, 2017
