The heads of Connecticut's arts and cultural institutions gathered at a public hearing in Hartford last week to express their concerns about Gov. Dannel Malloy's proposal to cut $11 million in funding on July 1, according to the Hartford Courant.
The proposed budget, which shows more than 20 different arts programs with a zero balance next their names, is calling for these organizations to apply for funding on an annual basis instead of receiving it automatically. Leaders expressed at the hearing that the change would cause major disruption because they've already created their fiscal plans for 2012.
Also last week, OPM Secretary Ben Barnes issued this clarification: "The proposed budget does not eliminate funding for arts organizations. Our goals in making these changes are simple – we want to create a system that demands accountability standards and sets performance benchmarks for organizations that receive state money. The current system of simply allocating an earmark does not do that. It does not ask the organization to disclose how that money is being spent, how much the funding provided by the state contributes to the entirety of that organization’s budget or how many people take part in a given exhibit or event."
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