Ford's Funding Cuts

Will September 19th be the date of the death of The Arts in Toronto?
That is the date of the city’s executive committee meeting where a proposal suggesting massive arts funding cuts is planned to be presented.

The purpose was prepared in response to a request from Mayor Rob Ford’s office by city manager Joe Pennachetti. If passed by city council, the plan would eliminate more than $6 million of annual funding that goes directly to 10 of the city’s top arts organizations.

But there is hope -- There are other options under consideration. Ford agreed there would be no cuts to the arts in order to get his arts advisor Jeff Melanson to work for him. “I can’t imagine city council would approve drastic cuts,” says Melanson, who has been the mayor’s adviser since November 2010. “And if it did happen, I would feel betrayed.”City council also gave its blessing earlier this year to a long-term culture plan calling for the city to increase its arts funding.

But there this is less hope -- These days Melanson has little contact with the mayor; at the end of this month he will leave Toronto and his job as co-CEO of the National Ballet School to take a job at the Banff Centre.

The purposed funding to be cut is different from that of the Toronto Arts Council. The council hands out $10 million in arts grants from the city, but the $6 million in the proposal, for the top arts groups in the city, comes directly from city hall.

For example
Canadian Opera Company: $1,317,015
National Ballet of Canada: $1,148,600
Toronto Symphony Orchestra: $1,134,036
TIFF: $800,000
AGO: $540,000
Caribana: $494,190
Luminato: $200,000
National Ballet School: $137,332
Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art: $135,980
Pride Toronto: $123,807

I am interested to see how this story develops over the upcoming 10 days and am worried about the outcome of September 19th's meeting.