We’ve just received this letter from Adolfo Henriques, chair of the Miami-Dade County Cultural Affairs Council, trying to drum up opposition to proposed budget cuts in Miami-Dade’s arts funding.
Dear Cultural and Community Leaders,
We need your help today. The proposed County budget reduces general fund support for the grants programs of the Department of Cultural Affairs by 10%. It is important to acknowledge that this proposed reduction could have been worse in the context of a very bad budget year. However, if these cuts are enacted, this would represent a 35% reduction to general fund revenues for our grants budget over the last 5 years.
As Chair of the Miami-Dade Cultural Affairs Council, I am urging you to take the following important actions now to help restore the County’s cultural arts budget:
WRITE. Personalize and send e-mails, faxes and letters to every County Commissioner and the Mayor (sample message attached).
CALL. Call every key County official, thank them for their support and emphasize specifically how important County arts support is to you and/or your cultural organization (County contact list attached).
TESTIFY. Attend and register there to speak at the two upcoming County Commission Budget Hearings where the County’s budget will be discussed and finalized for the coming year. The two Budget Hearings are being held at 5:01 pm on Thursday, September 8 and Thursday September 22 in the County Commission Chamber, 111 N.W. 1st Street, 2nd Floor. Crowds are expected so get there early and be prepared to wait to make your case (a fact sheet with important information about the impact of our cultural community is attached); you will have two minutes to speak.
It is essential to keep your message positive, focus on the importance of County support to the arts – and to your organization – and personally tell your story about the impact of the arts on the economy, jobs and our community’s families and children. Please share this message with everyone you know who cares about the arts.
Once again, together, our voices can make a difference in restoring County support for the arts. Thank you for your help.
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