Arlington County is changing the way it bills performing arts groups for services, raising concerns among some advocates.
Beginning July 1, the county will shift from charging groups a 10% surcharge for tickets to charging an hourly fee for each staff member or contractor who provides services at a county- or school system-owned theater facility.
It’s a change meant to recoup losses at Arlington Economic Development, which has effectively been subsidizing theater staffing at a cost of around $145,000 a year. While not all performing arts groups will see their costs go up, many of them are unhappy about the change.
“The feedback’s not great,” said Adam Green, who chairs the Arlington Commission for the Arts, at a March 25 budget work session.
AED, the arm of the county government that oversees support for arts groups, has said that current levels of spending are unsustainable.
“At some point, I don’t have the money,” AED director Ryan Touhill told Board members at the budget hearing.
Without recouping more of the costs, “I don’t have another way to provide the level of service I’m doing now,” he said.
At least half the 13 arts groups that currently use county facilities would see their costs to the county decline under the new arrangement, according to county estimates. But unlike the surcharge, which is on top of ticket prices, the new hourly charges would come directly from the arts organizations themselves.
The affected performing-arts organizations have been disinclined to speak about the situation, on or off the record. Two major county arts groups that use government facilities did not respond to ARLnow requests for comment about the situation during budget season.
Several arts groups did use social media to promote a March 25 “Call to Action” event in an attempt to stave off imposition of what event organizers termed “exorbitant” fees.
“Several [performing-arts groups] would not be able to exist under the proposed financial model,” one post said.
Board member Susan Cunningham used the budget hearing to voice her own concerns about the impact of proposed changes.
“That’s a pretty big lift on top of a pretty hard time for our arts community,” Cunningham said. “Maybe there’s some way we can soften it.”
Her colleagues ultimately agreed, opting to cut the hourly staff charges proposed by County Manager Mark Schwartz. What had been a range of between $35 to $47 per hour, depending on job description, was reduced to a range of $23 to $31 per hour.
Even under the higher structure proposed by Schwartz, AED wouldn’t have recouped all costs related to staffing facilities during rehearsals and shows. The net additional revenue was estimated at about $47,000 a year, a total that now will be closer to $24,000 owing to the reduced hourly rates approved by the Board.
The charges impact productions held at the theaters connected to Thomas Jefferson and Gunston middle schools, as well some held at Theatre on the Run.
Green said that even in tough budget times, county leaders should be willing to support the county’s performing-arts scene.
“We need a strong foundation of the things that unite us,” he said. “The arts, along with the libraries, bring us together in a way that nothing else can.”
