Saturday, December 23, 2006

Shreveport Regional Arts Council budget, $640,000, restored by City Council in Resolution that addressed Not-for-profits' budgets


Monty Walford, Margaret Martin
Originally uploaded by trudeau.


Shreveport City Councilman Monty Walford proposed the following budgets re. not-for-profit organizations, according to these council minutes from the Dec 12 meeting. Here's a summary of Resolution No. 193 of 2006:

Whereas, special appropriations are made by the City of Shreveport and then allocated to certain not-for-profit organizations which serve an overriding public purpose; and
Whereas, the City received proposals from not-for-profit organizations to fund projects and programs that are in the public interest; and
Whereas, the City Council wishes to specify the organizations which are to be funded in 2007.

Now therefore be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Shreveport, in legal session convened, that funds budgeted in the 2007 Riverfront Development Special Revenue Fund budget for civic appropriations shall be allocated as follows:

Barksdale Air Show $ 8,000
Barksdale Forward $112,500
Biz Camp $ 60,000
Caddo Council on Aging $ 65,000
Caddo Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse $ 22,500
Caddo-Bossier Film Assistance Office $ 10,000
Centerpoint $ 30,000
December on the Red $ 16,500
First Step Services $ 11,400
Gingerbread House $ 20,000
Hilman House $ 9,000
Independence Bowl $100,000
LSU-S Center for Business Research $ 25,000
MLK Clinic $ 25,000
Multi-Cultural Center of the South $200,000
Multi-Cultural Tourism Commission $ 40,000
Neighborhood Investment Program $350,000
Northwest Louisiana Food Bank $ 5,000
Providence House $ 75,000
Robinson Film Center $200,000
Sci-Port $340,000
Shreveport Green $135,000
Shreveport Regional Arts Council $640,000
Shreveport-Bossier Community Renewal $ 75,000
Shreveport Regional Sports Authority $225,000
Volunteers for Youth Justice $ 19,000
Youth Council $ 10,000
Contingency $ 41,100

Motion approved by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmen Lester, Walford, Long, Wooley, Webb, Shyne, and Bowman. 7. Nays: None.

In a later discussion of a redevelopment issue, Councilman Shyne
offered this perspective on SRAC: "And I want to comment you all, SRAC for doing an excellent job. For taking what we give you all and triple it. Sometimes you even do better than that. This is really what we need, because this is a part of drawing people to Shreveport. This is a part of making Shreveport the next great city of the south, we have to have what you all do in order for this City to be the kind of city that it needs to be. So, I applaud you all, keep on working, and keep on doing what you all are doing. My hat goes off to you all."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

There's some screwed up priorities there. Barksdale should get nothing. And I love the Robinson Film Center, but they get more than ten times more than a free community health clinic? It looks like all in all spending on the arts and civic boosterism far outweighed direct help for people who really need it.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Kevan. Sure, we gotta have art, but why should they be supported to the tune of a million or so a year in recurring costs chargable only to sales and property taxes?

What I find somewhat offensive is that virtually all of these agencies have boards made up of people with very, very deep pockets. Where's the tipping point where private sources take over and free up public funds?

Joe Shyne's comments nothwithstanding, at some point it will be a choice between fixing a street, water or sewer main, and paying to help Christmas in the Sky.