Hearing Set Tonight on Funding for Arts

Facing the potential loss of a $27,000 state grant, the City of Ventura Arts and Cultural Affairs Committee is hosting a public hearing tonight to assess the needs of arts groups in the county.

According to Sonia Tower, cultural affairs manager for the city, the grant from the California Arts Council State/Local Partnership Program is in danger of being lost because of a lack of matching funds from the Ventura County government.

“They really want the counties involved,” Tower said about the state organization.

The grant was awarded July 1, but a change was made at the state level that required matching funds from the county before any money could be given out.

“We were hoping to hear something definitive [from the county] before September,” Tower said.

Even though the city has until the end of the fiscal year in June to get the matching funds from the county, Tower said she needs to know by January whether the funds will be allotted because that is when the city must apply for next year’s grant.

“If it becomes clear by January that it won’t be able to be matched, we won’t be able to apply,” she said, adding that the city could lose the annual grant permanently.

Tower said the $27,000 is “not a lot in the scheme of a governmental budget. At the same time, when you’re going through a budget-cutting process, it can be.”

The meeting is not intended to pressure the county, only to find out how badly the funds are needed.

“If the funding is lost because the county can’t provide the appropriation, I think it’s important to get back to the community and let them know what’s going on,” Tower said.

The hearing starts at 5:30 p.m. at Ventura City Hall, 501 Poli St., Conference Room E (second floor, west end).