Los Angeles Arts Funding in Flux

LOS ANGELES—Two proposed budgets, if adopted in Los Angeles, will increase county arts spending but cut down on spending for the city's Cultural Affairs department, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The $22 billion budget for Los Angeles county, put forth by the chief executive of the board of supervisors William T. Fujioka, calls for a 3.8 percent increase in arts and cultural spending. With funding spread among the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, the Music Center, and the L.A. County Arts Commission, county arts spending would reach $68.5 million under the plan.

The $7 billion city plan, put forth by mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, would cut the budget for the city's Cultural Affairs department by 6.1 percent — from $10.1 million to $9.5 million. Will Caperton y Montoya, a spokesman for the department, said that the mayor's tightening of the budget would affect some programs and administrative operations but grants to artists and arts organizations would remain consistent at $3 million.

The county proposal calls for a rise in arts funding while overall spending decreases 2.6 percent; the mayor's plan calls for the opposite, by increasing overall city spending 2.8 percent and cutting down on arts funding. Robert Lynch, president of Americans for the Arts, a service organization for municipal arts agencies, said that the situation in L.A. seems to be following the current national trend.

Fujioka's budget must be approved by the county board of supervisors, and the mayor's by the city council.