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Issued: September 2002

SUMMARY

Several factors have created an increasingly unworkable system for allocating City funds to cultural arts organizations.

Limited policy guidance in the Arts Commission ordinance.

• Ordinance indirectly places policy decisions in the hands of the Arts Commission.
• Ordinance does not specify the complete role of the City Council in the funding decisions.
• Arts Commission appointed a task force to develop a comprehensive plan, but has not implemented portions.
• Arts Commission has adopted ad hoc policies by developing guidelines.
• Guidelines specify funding categories.
• Guidelines specify funding levels by type of organization and length of time receiving City funds.

Funding allocation and evaluation procedures are inconsistent.

• Criteria for evaluating artists’ applications are vague.
• Criteria for evaluating artistic presentation are weighted in favor of prior performances.
• Panel review attendance is mandatory, but site visits can be optional.
• Conversion of scores to funding allocations lack consistency.
• Additional funding awards by the Commission compromises the intent of the ordinance.

The ordinance establishes only one avenue for appeal, but numerous circumventions occur.

• Appeals board is only avenue for appeal.
• Appeals to Cultural Arts Services, the Commission, and the City Council circumvent the process, but yield positive results for artists.

Effective communication among stakeholders can be improved.

• Verbal communication is frequently emotional and mean-spirited.
• The Guidelines lack clarity between requirements and guidance for the application process.

Additional funding sources for the arts are needed for stabilization.

Click here to go to our audit request form to request a hard copy of this report (Report No. AU02304) or download the Cultural Arts Funding Process audit (Size: 1919 KB) and Appendix A (Size: 1357 KB) in Adobe Acrobat. You will need Adobe's Acrobat Reader to view these files.

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