REMARKS
Council Member Justin Brannan opens the final executive budget hearing on the Department of Cultural Affairs
2:09:33
·
172 sec
Council Member Justin Brannan, who chairs the Committee on Finance, opened the final executive budget hearing focused on the Department of Cultural Affairs' budget.
- He was joined by Council Member Carlina Rivera of the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries, and International Intergroup Relations.
- Brannan outlined the proposed FY2025 budget for DCLA of $152 million, an increase from the preliminary budget.
- He emphasized the importance of investing in arts and cultural institutions for their moral and financial benefits.
- Brannan stated his questions would focus on the council's budget response, one-time funding, and DCLA's capital program.
Justin Brannan
2:09:33
Okay.
2:09:33
Good afternoon.
2:09:34
Welcome to the final executive budget hearing for the day, focusing on the Department of Cultural Affairs.
2:09:40
Council member Brandon, I chair the Committee on Finance.
2:09:43
I'm still joined by my colleague, council member Rivera, chair of the Committee on Cultural Affairs Library.
2:09:49
And international intergroup relations.
2:09:51
Welcome to our old friend commissioner Lori Combo.
2:09:54
It's good to have you back in the chambers and your team.
2:09:59
Thank you for joining us today to answer our questions.
2:10:02
Just as a reminder, on April 24, 2024, the administration released the executive financial plan for FY 2020 4 to 28 with a proposed FY 2020 budget of $111,600,000,000 DCLA's proposed FY 25 budget of a $152,000,000 represents less than 1% of the administration's proposed FY 25 budget in the executive plan.
2:10:28
This is an increase of 7 point $2,000,000 or 5% from the initial 144,800,000 budgeted in the preliminary plan.
2:10:40
The $7,200,000 increase results from several actions, mostly a partial restoration of pegs to the CDF, the Cultural Development Fund, and the CIG, the Cultural Institution Group operating subsidy, partially offset by an adjustment in utility spending costs.
2:10:58
As of March 2024, DCLA has 9 vacancies relative to the FY 24 budgeted headcount.
2:11:07
In the council's preliminary budget response, we called on the mayor to add 75,600,000 to DCLA's budget.
2:11:15
To fully restore the cuts imposed to the cultural institutions funding, of which the executive plan only restored $15,000,000.
2:11:23
As I said this morning, we do not arrive at these numbers lightly.
2:11:27
The council has identified sufficient resources to restore this and other necessary cuts in full.
2:11:34
Investing in our arts and cultural institutions isn't a nice luxury, but one of those rare moments where it works from both a moral and a financial position.
2:11:43
If a budget is a moral document, then the arts are what inspires generations today and tomorrow to create and think and explore the world beyond.
2:11:52
And I've got the passport stamps to prove it.
2:11:54
Financially, our cultural institutions are also those key investments we need to support a heartbeat pulling millions of people into the city from around the world every year, generating revenue and supporting jobs all the while.
2:12:08
Council is obligated to deliver a final budget that supports New Yorkers' success, fiscal, and otherwise, and will continue that work in the negotiations in the month ahead.
2:12:18
My questions today will largely focus on the council's budget response along with one time funding and the DCLA's capital program.
