As the city looks for places to save money, many community arts groups find themselves on the chopping block.

By the end of Eau Claire City Council’s Nov. 5 budget meeting, it was pretty clear that funding local arts organizations is a divisive issue among council members.

The bulk of the more than three-hour meeting came in council members’ suggestions to amend the proposed budget, and while some concerned hundreds of thousands of dollars, the most heated debate concerned a request to allocate $17,200 to fund outside arts-related groups in 2010 the same way the city did in 2009.

“These are the many sources of entertainment that people rely on, and perhaps more so now given the times we’re in,” said council member Thomas Kemp, the amendment’s author.

The 2009 budget allotted $205,000 to the Chippewa Valley Museum, Chippewa Valley Symphony, Chippewa Valley Theatre Guild, Community Beautification Association, Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra, Eau Claire Regional Arts Center, Paul Bunyan Logging Camp, Children’s Museum of Eau Claire, and Municipal Band – a total Kemp suggested remain the same, instead of $17,200 less, as the proposed budget recommended. Kemp’s motion would require taking the funds from the Parks Capital Improvement account, less than 3 percent of its total ($297,000).

The council members heard from these organizations two days earlier, as they put forth anecdotal evidence of their successes, detailed their hard fundraising efforts, and mildly begged for empathy in tough times – but this meeting would see only deliberations from council members.

The motion saw some hesitation from council members Bob Von Haden, Jackie Pavelski,and Vice President Dave Duax, saying the parks account has already been reduced and some of these organizations need to know that they must raise funds on their own because there will come a time when the city no longer foots the bill.

“They need to be sent a strong message,” Duax stressed, adding that the diminishing room tax funds will eventually force these groups to be on their own. As a member of the city’s Fiscal Policy Advisory Commission, Pavelski said they thought about this recommendation thoroughly, and stands by the suggested amount for 2010.

Council President Kerry Kincaid provided a strong voice in support of Kemp’s amendment and the funding of these organizations.

“What greater use is there for city funds?” she said, citing that people spend $2.5 million on arts per year in the Eau Claire area. “And that money circulates in our community. They aren’t fluff. They bring affordable outlets for entertainment; they bring economic development; and they’re certainly worth our help.”

Kincaid added that FisPAC’s report made a preferential statement about our city’s values that she doesn’t agree with.

The motion would eventually meet a compromise of sorts, as council members Dana Wachs and Bon Von Haden made amendments to the amendment (as confusing as that may be). Many agreed that the Municipal Band and Paul Bunyan Logging Camp need more fundraising efforts, and took their 2009 amounts of $5,800 and $34,200 (respectively) down to $2,900 and $31,000.

“This is getting more and more ridiculous by the minute,” Kemp said of the miniscule difference of $17,200 being taken down to $11,100. “We’re gonna nickel and dime this down to what?”

The amendment would eventually pass 9-1, and Duax suggested that the amendment is a bipartisan compromise on the divisive issue, and should appeal to all sides.

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