County funding cut leads to layoffs at Creative Pinellas
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Creative Pinellas CEO Margaret Murray speaks last year The Gallery at Creative Pinellas in Largo. Photo: Sandrasonik
On the heels of county commissioners slashing more than $1 million in funding to Creative Pinellas, the arts support organization laid off half of its staff and canceled several upcoming programs.
Why it matters: Central to the cuts are initiatives to bolster the county as an arts and culture destination, CEO Margaret Murray told Axios.
- That's the mission critics on the county commission said the organization wasn't prioritizing enough when they voted 5-2 to cut the funding.
Zoom in: The organization called off Making Waves, a series of installations slated to launch next year along the beaches and in county parks, to which more than 100 artists applied to contribute, Murray said.
- Also canceled was the launch of Current | Culture, a digital magazine and cultural guide geared toward visitors.
- "Both of these programs were designed specifically and thoughtfully to bolster cultural tourism and promote Pinellas County as an arts destination," Murray told Axios.
By the numbers: The majority of the $1.05 million allocation — $861,150 — was set to come from tourist development tax revenue, which can be used only for tourism-related marketing and infrastructure.
- The 6% tax on hotel rooms and vacation homes yielded more than $96 million last fiscal year.
Receiving those funds "better produce tourism," commission chair Brian Scott, who initially proposed the funding cut, told Axios in an interview last week.
- The dozens of artists and arts supporters who turned out to a county budget hearing to plead with commissioners to maintain the funding "made my point for me," Scott said.
- Many speakers said they benefited from Creative Pinellas grants that helped them get through last year's hurricanes or difficult financial times.
- "That's a wonderful thing to do, but it's not compliant," Scott said. "It all comes down to heads in beds."
The other side: Murray defended Creative Pinellas' use of the funds, saying she worked closely with the county and Visit St. Pete-Clearwater on her organization's budget.
- The group's funding agreement with the county also tasks it with more than just tourism support, she said.
- Artist grants and programs that support residents are key priorities of the group, which commissioners formed in 2011 after recession pressures forced them to dissolve the county's cultural affairs department.
What they're saying: "So, Chairman Scott's assertion that we should be spending all of our energy on tourism programs — that's not reflected in our agreement with the county," Murray told Axios.
- She said she also hadn't heard any concerns about her organization's priorities until Scott proposed slashing the funding at an Aug. 28 budget workshop.
- "How quickly he has ushered this through ... continues to mystify me," Murray said.
The latest: Additional funding sources, including state and federal grants, are keeping Creative Pinellas afloat.
- The organization will put on its yearly Arts Annual fundraiser and exhibition next month.
- Murray also has a meeting with officials this week to determine the status of the organization's gallery space in Largo, which is owned by the county.
What's next: As part of the decision to cut Creative Pinellas' funding, commissioners allocated $500,000 to Visit St. Pete-Clearwater to administer an arts tourism grant program to promote the county as an arts destination.
- In an email to county commissioners, VSPC president and CEO Brian Lowack wrote he would work with several arts organizations to develop the program.
- Among them: Creative Pinellas.