Thrive
Budget maneuvering provides boost to St. Pete arts funding
An administrative proposal to bolster arts funding would have required eliminating five new city positions. Meanwhile, officials plan to spend $725,000 celebrating the St. Pete Pier’s 5th anniversary.
The city council discussed fiscal year 2025 budget additions at an Aug. 22 Committee of the Whole Meeting. Citywide stakeholders have implored local leaders to help compensate for the governor’s veto of state arts appropriations in July.
The council also requested additional money for a marine science center, an Albert Whitted Airport Scholarship and to increase the Economic Stability Fund. However, new appropriations demand a matching decrease elsewhere to balance the budget.
“I would prefer to find a different way than to unfund five new positions,” said Councilmember Copley Gerdes. “I’m not about to say we’re not going to do two new librarians, a forest person and a housing development coordinator, which is somebody I asked for in my budget priorities.”
Eliminating those salaries would still leave the city $272,256 short of the council’s $695,000 arts allowance increase goal. Officials proposed taking the remainder from general fund contingency coffers.
Councilmember Ed Montanari suggested using money budgeted for a July 4 Pier anniversary celebration. The facility will receive a $1.5 million subsidy next year.
Administrators said they could potentially cut that cost in half. Chris Ballestra, director of development, said the multiday event will feature free activities, fireworks and a drone show – a “pricey component.”
He also called the $725,000 allotment an “up for discussion” placeholder amount. Montanari noted that the city’s annual Pier subsidies have steadily increased.
“In the budget, you’ve got needs and wants,” he said. “It’s a big expenditure of money for an anniversary party for the Pier.”
While Montanari clarified that he “loves” the Pier, he motioned to strike the celebration funding. Gerdes suggested a pathway to increasing arts funding without eliminating $422,744 in new salaries.
That money will support a new senior operations analyst, a forestry foreperson, two librarians and a housing development coordinator. City officials will use $200,000 of the additional arts allocation to provide individual grants and increase the Warehouse Arts District Association’s funding from $50,000 to $100,000.
“Thank you for getting that to $100,000, which was the original ask I’ve had for the last couple of years,” said Councilmember Gina Driscoll.
Administrators proposed using the remaining $445,000 to offset the governor’s vetoes or bolster the city’s Arts Grants Program. While Driscoll has led efforts to increase related funding to 1% of the municipal budget – up to $7 million annually – Gerdes provided a temporary solution.
He motioned to take the $695,000 allocation from the 2024 general fund balance. That would leave $1 million in the FY 2025 contingency fund and allow officials to transfer $1 million to the economic stability fund.
Driscoll also requested an additional $25,000 to bridge a SHINE Mural Festival funding gap. Gerdes assumed administrators would find a way to include that in the budget, and council members unanimously passed his motion.
“I really appreciate all the work that’s been done with this,” Driscoll said. “I feel like we’re on our way.”
The council did not pass Montanari’s motion to remove the $725,000 Pier anniversary allotment from next year’s budget.
Additional FY 2025 budget additions include:
- Clam Bayou Marine Education Center: The council requested $100,000 annually for five years to support the University of South Florida’s programming. Administrators proposed reallocating $100,000 from a literacy and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) pilot program.
- Albert Whitted Airport Scholarship: The council requested $16,500 to match scholarships and increase equitable access to the facility and aerospace industry. Administrators plan to take the funding from the airport’s operating fund balance.
Multiple council members expressed dismay over the Phyllis Wheatley Foundation not receiving funding for the previously subsidized Rise to Read campaign. Administrator Rob Gerdes said officials would consider their comments before presenting a final budget proposal.
“It feels a bit wrong to have a line item in the budget to spend that much money on a party for the Pier when we have Black children who can’t read,” Driscoll said. “And we have an organization that’s working with Pinellas County Schools to help fix that.”
HAL FREEDMAN
August 28, 2024at11:11 pm
The Pier won’t even notice if the anniversary party is eliminated. $725,000 would pay for 10 First Night celebrations. First Night is a family-friendly, alcohol-free event that will end, after 30 years, with last year’s successful event. The City provided no funding last year. The Mayor’s answer, when asked about the funding FN had always received: “I’ve never gone; raise the money yourself.” The only complaints FN received last year were about the terrible event on the Pier, which FN had nothing to do with…that was the City’s event. Scrap the party, and support the arts!
Polita Glynn
August 28, 2024at10:43 am
It’s interesting when it comes to arts funding we put a human face on the budget and equate that funding with cutting “librarians, a forest person and a housing development coordinator.” Perhaps we should’ve put the same equivalent human faces on funding when we allocated $950,000 for lawyers fees to the Minnesota law firm working on the Gas Plant redevelopment.
Velva Lee Heraty
August 27, 2024at10:08 pm
Fully support the transfer of pier party budget which is irrelevant to the needs our communities. We already subsidize the floating artwork forever. Recently it broke and the city is committed to repairs as long as it exists. Millions of dollars have already been spent on this one item. Let’s not forget that the pier was over budget by 90 million and the city is still paying that off. I request a roll call on what council people did not support cancelling it and why. Please supply. Thanks.
S. Rose Smith-Hayes
August 27, 2024at6:29 pm
$725,000 for the Pier’s 5th Birthday, please, only tourist go there and they will go whether we spend $725,000 for a party or not. The Arts Council is much more important. Please give them that money or at least most of it. I only like Doc Fords at the Pier, but go to their location near Bay Pines, I like it better.
David S Goodwin
August 27, 2024at4:23 pm
Agree that the Pier celebration is an extravagance that should be reduced. Nice work by the Catalyst in covering the budget discussions with some needed detail.
Steve D
August 27, 2024at3:54 pm
The Pier is NOT a money pit. It’s the number one reason why many of St Pete’s visitors come here. We go there often; it’s a true joy!
monah
August 27, 2024at3:35 pm
It seems like a no-brainer to cancel the Pier Anniversary celebration. That Pier went way over budget and was controversial with the public in the first place. Why remind everyone what a money pit the pier is?