Money, money, money.
Erie County has a lot of it, and by year's end, it should have approximately $88 million in a budget surplus. Notwithstanding, the proposed 2011 budget by County Executive Chris Collins is ripe with layoffs, cost cutting, and fund removals from the arts, theater and other cultural institutions. The budget includes a $4 million subtraction from the Erie County Public Library system, sparking outrage from many in the region.
As happens every year, on Wednesday, the County Legislature held a meeting at 92 Franklin St. to hear citizens' comments on the proposals. A protest made up of several hundred people of the cultural community preceded the meeting, which filled to capacity shortly after security began to let citizens into the conference room.
"We vote! We vote," the crowd chanted shortly before officers began screening people for entry.
Mixed with young and old alike, the crowd's message to the County Legislature and Collins was clear: don't cut cultural funds.
Protestors and concerned citizens were not allowed entry with signs propelled by staffs or sticks. To counter the rule, attendees displayed labels reading "Arts," "Theater," and other sections of the media directly on their clothing.
"We have every theater as a member of the organization, and not one receives any funding under the proposed budget," said Edmund Cardoni, executive director of Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center and member of the Greater Buffalo Cultural Alliance (GBCA). "Places like the Irish Classical Theater Company, which for one has been the anchor of the theater district, have their very existence threatened now."
Some citizens feel the primary motivation for Collins' budget plans is his intention of not making the same mistake as his predecessor, Joel Giambra, whose budgets resulted in serious deficits. Others, however, are not as so convinced.
"It certainly looks good for an election to say you maintained such a huge surplus," said Rebecca Bley, president of the UB chapter of the American Library Association. "Yet that's coming at the cost of the libraries and the people who depend on them."
The struggle for cultural funding will continue until the 2011 budget is finally approved by the Erie County Legislature, and many are determined to continue to make sure the fiscal imperatives of the Collins administration are not executed.
"I think it's arbitrary [and] myopic, and I think there's some sort of hidden agenda," said Constance McEwan, a member of the Theater Alliance of Buffalo. "I just don't think he gets the big picture in providing social health to the area."
Responding to the focus of tourism and business, McEwan deemed the move as counterproductive and naïve.
"Regarding tourism, it's ultimately a quality of life issue," McEwan said. "Who is going to want to visit if it's not a great place to live to begin with?"
Collins has been reluctant to delve into the reserve coffers of the county, despite $11 million in federal stimulus money. Erie County's charter requires that a portion of the reserve fund, 5 percent of the annual budget, be kept at all times. Pertaining to this fiscal year, this translates to roughly $50 million of an approximately $1 billion plan.
With some of the money proposed to eliminate debt associated with the Erie County Medical Center – almost $16 million – $22 million remains unrestrained by charter constraints, which leaves much speculation on the county executive's plans and leaves many in the arts worrisome about the future of the cultural community in Buffalo.
" I came today because the arts are a valuable part of the area," said Brian Clark, a media study graduate in the master's program, who traveled from Rochester to take part in the demonstration. "They were a big part of my life while I was here, and it would be awful to see things that make Buffalo stand out nationally be removed from the city."
Erie County predicts a budget deficit of nearly $20 million for 2012, when federal Medicaid money is scheduled to be withdrawn. Collins has indicated that he will not propose a budget that includes tax increases, keeping property taxes among the lowest of any county in New York State.
E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
