Representatives and supporters of several Peterborough arts and service organizations rallied outside Peterborough City Hall late Tuesday afternoon (November 12) in protest of a proposed 25 per cent cut in the city’s draft 2025 budget to the community grants annually provided to them.
On page 206 of the lengthy draft city budget document, it’s noted that “all grant programs are proposed to be funded at 75 per cent of their 2024 budgeted amount,” with funding for Sustainable Peterborough eliminated completely.
The cuts to community grants — part of the city’s draft $411 million budget that will be reviewed by councillors starting November 18 — represent a savings of $286,000.
Under the banner “Community, Not Cuts,” some 250 people gathered outside city hall, many carrying placards decrying the city staff-recommended cuts.
“I’ve been in the arts for 40 years and I’ve put together a lot of budgets,” said Electric City Culture Council (EC3) executive director Su Ditta, one of the rally speakers.
“I believe strongly that if city staff and city councillors sat down together and put their minds to it, they could take small amounts away from every department and not grab the low-hanging fruit of these incredible 75 organizations.”
“Write your city councillors. Talk to them on the phone. Remind them that you voted for them. Remind them that you pay taxes too. And remind them that if they’re looking for value for the dollar, they don’t get any better than investing in these arts and social service groups.”
VIDEO: Rally at Peterborough City Hall – November 12, 2024 by Phillip Jolicoeur
Sneha Wadhwani, coordinator of the BIPOC peer support program offered through the Community Race Relations Committee of Peterborough, also addressed the crowd.
“Intimate partner violence was declared an epidemic by the City of Peterborough last year and then realized ‘Oh, we’re going to cut 25 per cent of funding that goes to the Kawartha Sexual Centre’,” she said of one of the organizations facing a grant cut, drawing cries of “Shame!” from the crowd.
In that crowd was Anne Elliott, a member of the Women’s Art Association of Peterborough, which was instrumental in the founding of the Art Gallery of Peterborough.
“I’m here because I’m passionate about the arts and their importance in bringing joy to people’s lives, helping people with their mental health, and improving the atmosphere within our community,” she said.
“It’s particularly frustrating to think that the City of Peterborough might not be supporting the arts in whatever way it can. It’s the support of the city that brings other funding to these organizations.”
“Do they (councillors) want a community that doesn’t have access to an art school, a symphony orchestra, an art gallery? I hope this (rally) makes them stop and think on their way into their meetings.”
Prior to the rally, Ditta told kawarthaNOW that the proposed cuts “are the most serious that the City of Peterborough has ever seen.”
“They range anywhere from a 25 per cent (cut) of grants to arts organizations, in the social services category, and in the community investment and project grants category, as well as separate documents that propose up to 100 per cent (funding) cuts to the Art Gallery of Peterborough, and to EC3 and all its programs.”
The elimination of city funding for the Art Gallery of Peterborough, along with a long list of other possible funding reductions, are included in the 2025 draft budget as “discretionary” service eliminations or reductions that would be required to limit the property tax rate increase, currently proposed at 7.8 per cent, to five per cent as requested by council
“Of course, arts lovers want there to be a robust ecology of music, dance, theatre, writing, film, poetry, circus arts … all of the fabulous disciplines that are represented in the city. But those organizations and the venues where they perform — Showplace, Market Hall, The Theatre On King, the AGP (Art Gallery of Peterborough), Artspace — also play a really vital role in the vitality of the downtown.”
Ditta said recently released statistics from the Ontario Arts Council show that for every one dollar spent by government on the arts, $25 is returned to the economy.
“It (grant cuts) will ultimately reduce the revenue side of the budget,” assesses Ditta, adding “You’re cutting off your nose to spite your face.”
“Sports, recreation, the arts and really critical social services are all important parts of a healthy city. If you look at page two of the city’s strategic plan, it describes very clearly how they’re all important to a healthy city. I think there are times — maybe this is one of them — when the city could slow down some capital expenditures (to the benefit of arts and social services organizations).”
Still, Ditta believes “the majority of councillors, including the mayor, understand that it’s not smart economics to cut arts funding. It’s not a smart mental health move. It’s not smart in terms of the health and vitality of the downtown. It’s not smart in terms of attracting tourists, doctors, and high-end businesses.”
“Smart cities make long-term investments in the arts. They don’t put their arts organizations in a situation where, every year, they drop everything they’re doing for three weeks to a month to fight (for grant money),” said Ditta.
“It’s time the City of Peterborough, with a visionary mayor who says he wants to make Peterborough a modern, contemporary city, understands that whether or not support for the arts is legally discretionary, in terms of the health and welfare of the city, it’s not smart management to make (financial support) discretionary and put them (arts and service organizations) through this every year.”
Over the days leading up to the rally, a number of arts and cultural organizations strongly expressed their dismay via emails and social media posts while urging supporters and the public at large to speak out against any cuts in city grant funding.
In a statement, the Peterborough Folk Festival board of directors asks residents to “imagine a city without the Peterborough Folk Festival, Market Hall, Showplace, The Theatre On King, Musicfest, ReFrame (Film Festival), the New Canadians Centre, Community Care, the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre, the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra, Public Energy or New Stages … and that’s just 12 of the 75 (organizations that would be impacted).”
The festival board’s statement adds “With no staff to cut and non-discretionary costs escalating, any reduction in the city grant will lead to direct reductions in (folk festival) programming.”
Terming the proposed community grants reduction “unwarranted and shortsighted,” the statement notes a savings of just .07 of one per cent would be realized.
“The blanket 25 per cent (proposed) cut was made without any consultations or feasibility studies, and has forced 75 arts and service organizations into survival mode. These cuts will be far more damaging to the city than the dollars they save.”
Meanwhile, Market Hall executive director Chad Hogan, speaking on behalf of the downtown venue’s board, notes in an email to members and supporters that, if approved, a 25 per cent cut in its community grant will see “increased community rental costs, increased ticket prices, reduced economic impact for downtown and fewer artists visiting our city.”
Noting Market Hall hosted 33 community groups/fundraisers, sold 24,000 tickets to more than 150 events, welcomed close to 7,000 residents to free events and hosted more than 5,000 visitors to the city over the past year, Hogan wrote “Cutting our budget, and the budgets of other arts and social services, will have far-reaching, negative impacts we don’t want to see in our city.”
In his plea, Folk Under The Clock artistic director Mike Barker, who has staged the majority of his concerts at Market Hall since 1986, asks “Have you enjoyed an arts or cultural event downtown? How important are these events to your love of the city?”
“There are many studies that have shown that when arts and culture thrive, the community is healthy. Downtown restaurants, hotels, and shops have benefited from patrons attending events at Market Hall. We know our patrons have come from all over Ontario and internationally. They spend money downtown.”
And in a lengthy statement, New Stages Theatre writes that the potentially impacted arts and service organizations “have gone into survival mode … scrambling to attend emergency meetings. Seventy-five executive directors and artistic directors are having to stand up and defend, once again, their (organizations’) contributions to the social and economic fabric of the city.”
“Last year, New Stages’ city grant leveraged 8.5 times is economic value back into the community, with money going to local businesses and residents, including staff and artists, venues, print shops, hotels, restaurants, bookkeepers/accountants, set builders, etc. At minimum, you’ll see a 25 per cent reduction in artistic programming and services in the city across the board, likely much worse. Some will need to change direction. Some will need to close.”
On Tuesday, the Women’s Art Association of Peterborough sent a letter to Mayor Leal and members of council, urging council “to maintain current funding levels” for the arts sector “which is so vital to who we are as a community.”
Another letter, penned by artist Ann Jaeger, noted “Artists can’t help but think the city considers its cultural slice of the budget pie as a kind of expendable slush fund to balance its operating budget. Artists are rightly angry when the city spends $4.4 million on a fair-weather-only pickleball court, or over $60 million on a new sports arena, but considers stable arts funding a bridge too far.”
Ditta notes, if there is a silver lining, it can be found in the “extraordinary” coming together of arts and community service organizations to fight the proposed cuts.
“Lots of times, arts leaders have written letters to councillors and what not, but this time they’re asking their members and subscribers to do so. They’re issuing emergency bulletins and coming to the rally. But the other piece, which is equally important, is the coalition that’s been formed between arts group and social services groups.”
“These groups have come together to say ‘We’re not discretionary. We’re the best investment you can make. We’re cheap, we’re effective, we’re efficient, we deliver and you’re nuts to cut us.”
Tuesday’s afternoon rally preceded an evening public meeting on the draft 2025 budget where city council’s general committee heard from 36 delegations, including arts and social services organizations — almost all objecting to the proposed cuts.
This story has been updated to revise the number of rally participants from 400 to 250 to reflect an estimate from rally organizers.
