City of Ottawa could slash arts, festival funding

[Acajack]

This is especially significant when one considers that Ottawa, which likes to ride for free on the coattails of all the federally-financed high-class stuff logically located in the capital, is already dead last (or close to dead last) in municipal spending on arts and culture among major Canadian cities.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=55d3c17a-0
ab6-4cf2-826f-fcc44a4d434f

[lrt's friend]

I volunteer for one of the affected organizations and our city grant is to be cut by 100%. Our organization has its roots in one of the former municipalities and is run entirely by volunteers and we will have great difficulty continuing without the grant. It is actions like this that perpetuate ongoing displeasure with city amalgamation, even 8 years after the fact.

[Acajack]

I volunteer for one of the affected organizations and our city grant is to be cut by 100%. Our organization has its roots in one of the former municipalities and is run entirely by volunteers and we will have great difficulty continuing without the grant. It is actions like this that perpetuate ongoing displeasure with city amalgamation, even 8 years after the fact.

I can fully understand why you are frustrated.

I don't know what the arts funding situation was in the other former RMOC municipalities, but I do know that the old pre-merger City of Ottawa was still at or near the bottom in arts and culture support among large Canadian cities.

[waterloowarrior]

Angry artists lambaste funding assault
'Rein in your senior staff,' councillors advised

CHRIS COBB
Ottawa Citizen

Tuesday, November 18, 2008


CREDIT: Photo by Julie Oliver, Ottawa Citizen,
Allan Meltzer, who plays Lt. Col. By for events with the Bytown Museum, claps along with a full house of other arts supporters at a press conference at City Hall Tuesday morning. Arts groups gathered together to voice their unified opposition to proposed arts cuts by council.
OTTAWA-Angry artists crammed into City Hall Tuesday to demand an end to what they call a systematic annual assault on arts funding.

Arts and business leaders told supporters that pre-budget recommendations by senior city staff to slash arts funding defy common sense and would ultimately cost the city millions of dollars in lost revenue.

Peter Honeywell, executive director of the Council for the Arts in Ottawa, said elected councillors, most of whom he says are in favour of supporting area festivals and museums, should rein in their senior staff.

"This has to stop,' he said. "What is senior staff missing here? Why are they putting the arts community through this again? Are we puppets they want to see dance every year? What angers me is that all the people who are here today could be doing something else - something productive - but they've put their work aside to come to City Hall yet again."

The economic case for arts funding is so strong, said Mr. Honeywell, that council needs to tell staff to look elsewhere for cuts.

"Council has to tell senior staff that arts are not on the table," he said, "and that ice rinks are not on the table and that social programs are not on the table. They can't just give the staff a magic number and say 'find the cuts for us.' It's provocative and it's wrong."

Staff are recommending that $6.1 million be cut from 2009 arts and culture funding, which this year was budgeted at $13.3 million. That's a 43-per-cent cut.

Among the festivals that would lose all city funding are:

. The Canadian Tulip Festival, Ottawa Bluesfest and the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival;

. Dance, theatre and choral groups, including Savoy Society, Le Groupe Danse Lab and Ottawa Children's Choir;

. Community projects such as Centretown movies, Propeller Dance, House of PainT and Ladyfest;

. The Ottawa Book Awards and the Karsh Award program for outstanding artists would also lose city funding along with numerous heritage projects and historical societies.

Other groups such as the Kiwanis Music Festival, Opera Lyra, Odyssey Theatre and the Ottawa Choral Society would be hit by deep cuts to their operating budgets.

Although many groups have other sources of funding to complement city money, they say city funds give them the leverage necessary to get grants from other funders.

At the root of the artists' frustration with the city is the apparent willingness to renege on a four-year stable funding arts program agreed to by council in 2006.

The program followed years of deep financial study during which the city eventually agreed that its investment in the arts generated significant returns.

According to the city's own figures, festivals and fairs generate $21 for every dollar granted and arts and festivals combined generate $43 million for the city's economy annually.

But this budget season, bureaucrats have been asked to suggest spending cuts to balance the books and prevent tax increases beyond the expected five per cent.

Armed with a long list of culture-related revenue statistics, arts leaders urged supporters to return to City Hall on Dec. 1 when council will be holding public hearings into the budget proposals.

Councillors support the arts community, said Mr. Honeywell.

"I don't think there is an appetite for these cuts (among council)," he told the audience, "but we can't take the chance. We have to fill this hall on Dec. 1."

Internationally acclaimed photographic artist Jennifer Dickson, one of the more prominent Ottawa artists at the protest, accused senior city bureaucrats of "malicious" behaviour.

"Something is rotten at the core at City Hall," she said.

© Ottawa Citizen 2008

[Mille Sabords]

When we see how little money the arts and culture budget represents in the big picture, the city's strategy is incomprehensible.

[c_speed3108]

I am a bit "a little from column A, little from column B" on this one.

The problem with the way most of these budget things go is that not enough time is spent digging through each area looking at things item by item.

Some things really need funding...for sure.

Other things like Bluesfest should be cut. That is a highly commercial, expensive ticket prices, big name event. It should be able to make it on it's own.



This goes for many areas of the budget: there ARE transit routes that can be cut, we run waaaay too many library branches, etc. What the budget needs is things to actually be looked at in detail...not from high level.

[p_xavier]

This goes for many areas of the budget: there ARE transit routes that can be cut, we run waaaay too many library branches, etc. What the budget needs is things to actually be looked at in detail...not from high level.

Concerning library branches, I'm sure it would be cheaper to give everyone that wants it a e-book and electronic versions. Libraries are useless today.

[lrt's friend]

Concerning library branches, I'm sure it would be cheaper to give everyone that wants it a e-book and electronic versions. Libraries are useless today.

I think you should go and see how busy libraries are.

By this same logic, do away with all sports facilities and give them a Wii and an electronic sports game. We could save even more money.

[c_speed3108]

I am not suggesting we get rid of libraries. What I am suggesting is that we consolidate them.

The libraries are a classic case of incomplete amalgamation. I think we ended up with something like 33!!! branches. We would be better to work this down to about 20-25 better branches instead of tones of tiny ones that still need a certain amount of staff just to be open. This would result in a savings in operating costs.

What we have with libraries is a sort of reverse NIMBYism in that everyone wants one around the corner. We need to start working more as a single city and looking at how things can be shared around the community.

And I don't mean to just pick on Libraries, there are other things that are the same way.

[p_xavier]

I think you should go and see how busy libraries are.

By this same logic, do away with all sports facilities and give them a Wii and an electronic sports game. We could save even more money.

Except there's no difference in content between an e-book and a paper one. I would support getting rid of libraries.

[lrt's friend]

Except there's no difference in content between an e-book and a paper one. I would support getting rid of libraries.

e-books don't build communities. Libraries do. Who wants to read a novel electronically? Blah! I much prefer reading a book or the newspaper on the couch, to having a hot laptop on top of me.

[lrt's friend]

I am not suggesting we get rid of libraries. What I am suggesting is that we consolidate them.

The libraries are a classic case of incomplete amalgamation. I think we ended up with something like 33!!! branches. We would be better to work this down to about 20-25 better branches instead of tones of tiny ones that still need a certain amount of staff just to be open. This would result in a savings in operating costs.

What we have with libraries is a sort of reverse NIMBYism in that everyone wants one around the corner. We need to start working more as a single city and looking at how things can be shared around the community.

And I don't mean to just pick on Libraries, there are other things that are the same way.

Maybe you are right, but its hard to close a library branch. I think our community was the only one to lose a library branch as a result of amalgamation. We have been left with a derelict building and a consolidated branch that is not easily accessible by transit. When options were considered, they chose not to place it near our closest rapid transit station.

[eemy]

Except there's no difference in content between an e-book and a paper one. I would support getting rid of libraries.

There is a huge difference in the interface though. Reading an e-book on a computer screen is a pain in the ass. I much prefer to read from an actual book. E-books aren't free either. At the very least, you need some form of technology to read it (be it a computer or specialized device) and you need some way to access it (usually the Internet). Keep in mind that not everyone owns a computer or has access to the Internet and that libraries are one of the primary ways for those people to access those resources.

[p_xavier]

There is a huge difference in the interface though. Reading an e-book on a computer screen is a pain in the ass. I much prefer to read from an actual book. E-books aren't free either. At the very least, you need some form of technology to read it (be it a computer or specialized device) and you need some way to access it (usually the Internet). Keep in mind that not everyone owns a computer or has access to the Internet and that libraries are one of the primary ways for those people to access those resources.

Hence saying, for the cost of libraries, we could provide access and books to these people. For the salary of the head librarian, it's 1000 devices with 200 books each. New e-books have integrated downloading through a cellular network, where the service is free.

It all comes to a personal preference, I'd rather read a PDF file than a paper book. But that personal preference has a high cost.

[Acajack]

It all boils down to what type of city people want. A city is not just about snow removal, water mains, buses and garbage collection. Human beings are not robotic drones whose life needs are limited to the lower levels of Maslow’s pyramid.

Take a look at the Grande Bibliothèque in Montreal or the François Mitterand national library in Paris. Were these things really necessary? Well, I guess that all depends on your definition of what a truly vibrant human society is.

Plus, no one is going to convince me that the City of Ottawa is that hard-up for cash in comparison to almost every other large Canadian city that spends way more on arts and culture than it does.

[lrt's friend]

Hence saying, for the cost of libraries, we could provide access and books to these people. For the salary of the head librarian, it's 1000 devices with 200 books each. New e-books have integrated downloading through a cellular network, where the service is free.

It all comes to a personal preference, I'd rather read a PDF file than a paper book. But that personal preference has a high cost.

OK, let's close the libraries as you suggest and replace it with electronic devices paid by public funding. OK, that means we will have to buy, say, 750,000 devices for everybody age 5 and over. We then give each a credit to purchase access to a maximum of 200 books. Of course, that does not replace the public library, which provide access to thousands of books. Sounds like a very expensive and restrictive proposition.

[lrt's friend]

It all boils down to what type of city people want. A city is not just about snow removal, water mains, buses and garbage collection. Human beings are not robotic drones whose life needs are limited to the lower levels of Maslow’s pyramid.

Take a look at the Grande Bibliothèque in Montreal or the François Mitterand national library in Paris. Were these things really necessary? Well, I guess that all depends on your definition of what a truly vibrant human society is.

Plus, no one is going to convince me that the City of Ottawa is that hard-up for cash in comparison to almost every other large Canadian city that spends way more on arts and culture than it does.

Exactly! Can you imagine a city where there are no community centres, no libraries, no festivals, and no museums?

[rodionx]

Libraries and sports facilities are basically community centres. They are places where people get together. The books and sports are important, but secondary. There's a good article in the Mayfair thread on the intangible aspects of community, and how shared spaces help build community.

At any rate, the city isn't going to find the savings it needs in arts and culture funding. Cutting funding to Centretown Movies will save them what? $37.50? They need to go after the big ticket items or suck it up and raise taxes some more. They've already raided the reserve fund, after all. Something has to give.

[p_xavier]

OK, let's close the libraries as you suggest and replace it with electronic devices paid by public funding. OK, that means we will have to buy, say, 750,000 devices for everybody age 5 and over. We then give each a credit to purchase access to a maximum of 200 books. Of course, that does not replace the public library, which provide access to thousands of books. Sounds like a very expensive and restrictive proposition.

No, because there's not the entire population of Ottawa that goes to the library, and most books are available electronically. An electronic book with thousands of licences would be cheaper, plus you wouldn't have to wait for the copy to come back in.

For my students, they have the choice of paying $90 for their manual, or $3 for an electronic encrypted copy. Nobody bought a book.

Libraries are not like museums, they are renting books, that's it. There's nothing to discover besides reading. For all other activites, you have other places to do so. Eh, I even worked in a library for a year! I'd fund a festival before a library anytime.

[Acajack]

Libraries are not like museums, they are renting books, that's it. There's nothing to discover besides reading.

Just that is more than enough justification, in my humble opinion. Reading is the basis for almost all of the learning you will be doing throughout your entire life.

Sounds like a pretty good argument to me.