Dear Colleagues,
The 2nd and final County Budget Hearing concluded last night and the department‘s budget was approved by the Board of County Commissioners. As you know, it was another difficult budget for County government. In spite of this, Mayor Carlos Gimenez and the Board of County Commissioners continued to demonstrate strong support for our work.
Our department‘s budget for 2014-2015 was approved with very modest decreases in the property tax revenues that fund our grants programs. The good news is that this reduction was offset, in part, by the continued growth of hotel/motel bed taxes dedicated to our budget.
Our volunteer board, the Cultural Affairs Council, continues to work tirelessly to make the case for the arts. They do this in recognition of all of the amazing opportunities that cultural organizations and artists create for our community.
Last night at the budget hearing, the Council‘s Chair, Adolfo Henriques, attested to the power of County arts investments when he said: “This is a good business decision for making our entire community great and a sound budget investment for keeping our economy strong.“
We look forward to working closely with you on what promises to be another incredible season.
Michael Spring
Director, Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs
Senior Advisor, Office of the Mayor
Originally published at https://miamidadearts.org/news/newsalert-county-arts-budget-news
