After 21 percent cut TAG funding remains the same

Cornwall Ontario — The Art Gallery (TAG) is one of seven organizations that will be receiving the same funding as last year. But they are also the only outside agency to have received a drastic 21% budget cut last year. The perception was that their budget cut was a punitive measure.

In an article last year, City Councillor Andre Rivette was quoted in the Seeker as saying, “for two or three years the paper work hasn’t been sent in on time. They are lucky to get anything”. Read the full article here.

This year everything was in order and done on time, but City Council’s Community Agencies Committee was not willing to return TAG’s funding back to 2012 levels despite being about $30,000 under budget this year.

Other organizations to receive the same levels of funding are Aultsville Theatre, Centre Culturel de Corwnall, Seaway Valley Tourism, the Historical Society, Centre Charles-Emile Claude, and the Senior Citizens Club.

The cost to maintain the same services often goes up a bit each year. Without an increase in funding some organizations may have to cut services if they do not find alternative sources of funding to make up the difference.