Macon — Last week, the Macon-Bibb County commission approved their 2019 budget. For many organizations around Macon, it meant staring budget cuts in the face.
The Museum of Arts and Sciences and the Tubman Museum both received two of the biggest cuts from the commission's budget. Both museums asked for $250,000, but will only receive $180,000. Now they have to figure out how to fill the gap.
"Well, a loss of $50,000 is always difficult for a museum non-profit to make up, but we’ll be looking for different ways that we can try to find additional sponsorship and funding for our programs," said Dr. Andy Ambrose, executive director of the Tubman Museum.
Both organizations have suggestions, but only time will tell if they will pan out.
"We’re kind of seeing what we can do, building maybe a trust or some OLOST funds, there’s a lot of research happening right now," said Sherry Singleton, director of communications for the Museum of Arts and Sciences. "Hopefully we’ll know more in the next two weeks about how we can kind of grab that and run with it for not only ourselves, but other organizations as well."
An OLOST fund would add a one penny tax on goods and services in Macon-Bibb County. That would have to be approved by the General Assembly. The Tubman Museum is considering a hotel/motel tax.
That would take a portion of revenue from local lodging and spread it among local attractions. The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and the Douglass Theatre already benefit from the tax. Funds are also generated from tourists, conferences, and conventions.
"That could go a long way towards not only giving us that baseline of funding that we need for operational costs that will not be met by grants and other areas, but will also enable us to take us off the city, county budget," Ambrose said.
Both the Museum of Arts and Sciences and the Tubman said they are working on raising funds with grants and fundraisers. If they cannot figure out how to make up the funding gap, it could affect how both attractions do business.
"It would really change our focus," Singleton said. "So instead of looking in on our community and what we can do to really nurture our schoolchildren and stuff here, we’d really branch out and ask how can we attract more public on a tourism base rather than an educational base."
Both attractions said there is a possibility of raising admission prices, but would prefer not to do so. The Museum of Arts and Sciences said the museum has enough money in reserves to put that option on hold for at least a year.