Restore the funding to the Arts and Culturals in Erie County!
- by: Greater Buffalo Cultural Alliance & Empower Arts Buffalo
- recipient: Erie County Legislature
In its wisdom, the Erie County Legislature understands that the community known as Erie County is a complex web of people, businesses, services, and enrichments.
The County Executive's budget for 2011 eliminated funding to almost every eligible arts organization and cultural institution. In bipartisan effort, the County Legislature has proposed an alternative budget which:
*totals approximately $100,000.00 less then the budget drafted by Mr. Collins
*restores funding to eligible arts organizations
*would not require any additional tax to citizens of Erie County
We, the undersigned, would like to join with The Greater Buffalo Cultural Alliance (GBCA) and Empower Arts Buffalo (EAB) and encourage our County Executive and, if necessary, the County Legislature to support the Restoration of all funding for Arts and Culture organizations.
There has been talk recently that the Arts are special interests and that these funding restorations will necessitate tax increases.
*Annual attendance at Buffalo/Niagara cultural institutions is over 2.4 million patrons. This is not a special interest group. We do no support a tax increase.
*The financial experts who evaluate and analyze the budget have concluded that the legislature's proposed budget will not cause a tax increase but will actually result in a slight decrease from the one proposed by the County Executive.
We are grateful to the thirteen legislators who acted in a bipartisan way and spoke for the community when they supported cultural funding on Nov. 30th with votes in the affirmative that ranged from super majorities for 13-2 and 10-5. We urge our political leaders to continue to have the best interest of our community in mind and support cultural funding in Erie County.
We, the undersigned, support those restorations and urge the legislature to keep the faith that unites this community and stand fast against predicted vetoes.
We the undersigned thank the Erie County Legislature for restoring all funding to the vital arts and culturals in Western New York in your amended budget.
We would like to further thank each and every one of you for standing up for the smaller cultural organizations, and voting almost unanimously to amend the budget and restore funding to each and every one of them. However, if Collins were to veto the budget, it is unclear whether or not there would be enough votes to override that veto.
We are urging you all, as members of the cultural community of Western New York, as citizens of Erie County, and as taxpayers, to stand up unanimously in defense of the arts in Buffalo and the surrounding areas. The arts and cultural community is rapidly growing and becoming a strong force that is attracting national attention. It is worth saving, and worth fighting for.
The draft by the Legislature takes into appropriate consideration report by Greater Buffalo Cultural Alliance (GBCA) that 2.4 million persons attended arts events and cultural attractions in the past year and that such attendance is part of a momentum and economic engine which is for the general good and for the advancement of all business in Erie County.
We add our signatures to this petition in support of this region's cultural treasures: the theater companies, galleries, music societies, dance companies, arts and arts education programs of Erie County.
We ask each and every one of you for your support in the event of a Collins veto. Thank you very much for your time.
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