Santa Cruz County supervisors on Tuesday postponed until June 30 a decision on proposed cuts to local arts funding after hearing from dozens of residents who urged them to preserve grants for arts organizations.
Under the proposal, funding for the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History would be cut by 50 percent to help restore parks and recreation services. County staff also proposed redirecting $77,297 from the museum’s contract and eliminating a $170,046 contract with the Arts Council as part of a package to restore seven-day operations at Simpkins Family Swim Center, portable restroom service and park maintenance.
Supervisors directed county parks staff to identify other budget reductions that could preserve arts funding.
The proposed package would redirect $590,000 to the county’s Parks, Open Space and Cultural Services Department. Along with reductions to arts funding, it includes Measure K and Measure Q funding, risk management dollars, reductions to recreation grants and the cancellation of a software contract. The funding would restore daily operations at Simpkins Family Swim Center, restroom and maintenance contracts, and replace revenue expected from a paid parking pilot program that the county later scrapped.
Parks Director Jeff Gaffney acknowledged the proposal was difficult.
“It was a very difficult budget to propose,” he said.
The proposal drew strong opposition from dozens of speakers, many of whom argued the arts community is central to Santa Cruz County’s identity.
Arts Council Santa Cruz County Executive Director Jim Brown said the organization has already adopted a budget with a $130,000 deficit.
“We, like the county, are tapping our reserves to sustain programming, and we will not be able to sustain the proposed cut,” he said.
Tandy Beal, founder of Tandy Beal & Company, which brings dance and performance programs to schools, said the cuts would be a mistake.
“The arts beautify Santa Cruz,” she said. “They beautify the material world and people’s hearts. It would be a terrible mistake to cut the arts budget.”
MAH Executive Director Ginger Porcella said declining federal funding has already strained the museum’s finances.
“A world without art is not a world that I think any of us want to live in,” she said.
Ruby Vasquez, who leads the Watsonville-based folklórico groups Esperanza del Valle and Estrellas de Esperanza, said the cuts could damage a valuable cultural resource.
“The arts are an essential part of our community,” she said. “They are just as important as any other part of our community.”
Supervisor Justin Cummings said music had a profound impact on his life.
“Punk rock saved my life as a teenager,” he said. “We see how much the arts change people’s lives every day.”
Cummings said the arts are a vital part of the county’s culture and economy, pointing to First Fridays, art walks and art-and-wine festivals.
“Not only is it a part of our culture, but it’s a huge part of our economy,” he said.
Cummings suggested using the county’s 10.4 percent reserves to preserve arts funding, but County Executive Officer Nicole Coburn said that was not an option.
“We can definitely not take any more out of reserves,” she said, adding that many counties maintain reserves closer to 30 percent.
Supervisor Manu Koenig instead suggested using discretionary Measure K funding — generated by the county’s half-cent sales tax — and Measure Q revenue, which comes from an $87 parcel tax for land and water management and conservation programs.
“I really don’t think that we should draw down our reserves further to solve this problem, especially because it’s a one-time solution and really doesn’t solve the problem going forward,” he said. “If we all put in $100,000 from Measure K to make the parks budget whole, however that’s done, we have more than enough to do so.”
A visibly frustrated Gaffney said staff had already spent months trying to balance the budget.
“There’s not a lot left to cut,” he said. “So you’re going to be looking at dry grass at Felton Covered Bridge. You’re going to be looking at dry grass at Willowbrook Park. You’re going to be looking at no bathrooms in places. These are the tough choices we have to make. I get that, and we’ll figure it out. We went forward in good faith back in March to try to make this happen, and it’s not going to look good in nine months or 10 months where the county parks department will be.”
