As reported in The Explorer, the Oro Valley Council approved donations of $380,000 to various non-profit groups.
Only the $120,000 given to GOVAC---The Greater Oro Valley Arts Council was a bit contentious. Ultimately, the council voted 4-3 to approve the payment structure to GOVAC, Opposed were Loomis, Kunisch & Gillaspie. They desired a different payment schedule.
Read the details in the Aug 13 Explorer article here.
http://www.explorernews.com/articles/2008/08/13/news/doc48a22009e37ef177689132.txt
4 comments:
If I hired an interior designer to make my house better, I would pay after I see the finished product. Why should GOVAC be any different? They squandered $60k without the council's approval to run a budget deficit so high, they need to be put on a short leash now. I fully support this new effort to control an out-of-control parasitic non-profit
I am against Oro Valley, or any municipality, making charitable contributions. Taking from us to give to some charity is wrong.
There "otta-be-a-law" against it.
I agree with the Zee Man on charitable contributions. I have two issues with this:
(1) If my tax dollars are so necessary, then why is some of the money being given away to charities?
(2) What if I disagree with the "mission" of one or more of these charities?
Just because an organization has tax-exempt status does not make it a "charity." The Town has a long-standing agreement with GOVAC to make it--rather than the Town--the "presenting arts" organization for the community. The Town's contribution makes up only 10% of GOVAC's budget.
If the Town wishes to put GOVAC on a "short leash," that's their choice. The most recent Council decision to pay GOVAC on a reimbursement basis is one way to do that, but it means that GOVAC must incur expenses, pay them, and then wait for its funding sources to reimburse. Nothing fundamentally wrong with that, but it does make it difficult.
All cities and towns help to underwrite a wide variety of programs--from housing and arts to homeless shelters to food banks. If there were enough donors to avoid government support (which is really our money anyway), it would be a more perfect world. But, alas, that world does not exist.
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