How else can I help?
You can also attend next week’s general public budget hearing on Wednesday, May 26th at 9am. Sign up info below:
- All speakers must register in advance (Tuesday, May 25th, 2021 by 3:00 p.m.).
- To sign up to speak, please call the City Secretary’s Office at 832-393-1100 or email citysecretary@houstontx.gov with this sample message on our tips for public comment.
- If you need translation services, please notify staff when registering.
You will need to call in prior to the start of the meeting. The number to call is: (936) 755-1521; Conference ID# 225 117 002#
Make sure you recommend that ARPA funds be used to close the HOT revenue shortfall and that is a total of 16 million dollars.
Alternatively, call your local council member and/or At-Large council member’s offices within office hours anytime Monday, May 24 to Wednesday May 26. Find your council member in the contacts list on the next page, and use this call script as a guide:
Call Script:
My name is [Your Name] and I live in [Fill in Your District Letter]. I want to share my thoughts on arts funding with [Councilmember/Mayor].
[Optional: I am (state your connection to the arts)/ The arts are important to me because (share your story)]
I am asking if you, my elected representatives, are willing to present an amendment to the Mayor’s budget, to ensure that American Rescue Plan Act funds are provided to the Houston Arts Alliance to replace lost Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) revenue. This would be to close the HOT revenue shortfall — a $16 million gap — for the last fiscal year and this upcoming fiscal year, to restore funding to FY19 levels. The City of Houston should stimulate and continue to invest in artists and smaller arts organizations with annual budgets under $10 million. These entities are struggling due to pandemic budget shortfalls, and according to the McKinsey Report on Small Business Recovery, will not be able to fully recover until 2025.