The Arts Should Not Be First to Get Ax : * Communities Should Consider Cutting Back, Not Eliminating Cultural Programs

Life in the sprawling suburban communities would be dreary indeed without the many cultural programs that are funded by cities. Such programs as classical music presentations for senior citizens and local festivals are bright spots on the landscape.

All the more reason, then, for the cities to think twice before automatically applying the ax to some of these programs. Invariably, difficult decisions have to be made. But it doesn’t follow that arts and cultural programs automatically should go first to the chopping block when there are gaping holes to fill in the dwindling municipal budget.

Costa Mesa is perhaps the most dramatic example of painful cutting at the moment. Its City Council has approved a reduction from $175,000 to $87,000 in the amount that will go to arts groups in 1992-93. Faced with a projected $3.7-million revenue gap this year, it now faces the task of finding out which groups will have their funding cut and which won’t.

Other cities face less drastic measures, but they will hurt. Fullerton’s cultural program has had 6% cuts in the past two budget years, yet somehow it has managed to keep the cuts in line with those of other city departments. Fullerton Museum Center director Joe Felz’s comment suggests that his city has the right perspective. He says: “Some people would consider us a luxury. We’re viewed (by Fullerton city officials) as an integral part of the city.”

And that they are. Better, if possible, to get by with a few unfilled positions and a few less paper clips than to cut entirely programs that make the life of the community richer. It may not be possible to fulfill the ambitions of arts and cultural programs designed in better times. Irvine, for example, went into the recession having created a cultural division a couple of years ago with a plan to expand the city’s arts program. But even that city now has suffered some cutbacks.

At some point or other, when a city has to cut too deep, it will be looking at cutting into the bone of community life. Still there are bright spots, such as the grants announced recently by the Leo Freedman Foundation. It included almost $400,000 to small-scale cultural groups and events in Anaheim, which lacks an city-administered arts program. The foundation plans to give about $500,000 in grants each year to Orange County.

Communities finding themselves one round of cuts away from seriously jeopardizing the quality of arts programs should think long and hard before the ax falls.