Support Issue 55 Funding Initiative For Arts And Culture In Cuyahoga County

Lakewood City Council and the Mayor unanimously passed a resolution urging support for Issue 55, the funding initiative for arts and culture in Cuyahoga County on this November's ballot. The Beck Center's Cindy Einhouse, Lakewood Public Art Task Force's Bryan Evans, Cuyahoga Arts and Culture's Karolyn Isenhart, and Assembly for the Arts' Jeremy Johnson spoke in support.

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An important opportunity to keep arts and culture a vibrant part of Lakewood and our region is on the ballot this Nov. 5.

Councilwoman Cindy Marx and I recently introduced a resolution in support of Issue 55, a funding initiative for arts and culture in Cuyahoga County. On Sept. 3, Lakewood City Council, together with Mayor George, unanimously passed it. In attendence and expressing support were: Cindy Einhouse of the Beck Center; Lakewood Public Art Task Force's Bryan Evans; Cuyahoga Arts and Culture's Karolyn Isenhart; and Assembly for the Arts' Jeremy Johnson.

Issue 55 is a funding initiative on the Nov. 5, 2024 General Election ballot to continue arts funding in Cuyahoga County through Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC).

Prior to 2006, Greater Cleveland was one of only a few major metropolitan regions without sustainable public funding for the arts. That year, Cuyahoga County voters first supported a funding initiative for the sole purpose of funding arts programming and culture with a 53 percent vote of support. Funding was renewed in 2015 by a resounding majority of 75 percent. The funding source is a 1.5 cent tax on cigarettes, and it is the sole source of CAC revenue since the organization’s policy is to refrain from fundraising that would compete with its grantees.

In recent years, revenues gathered by the levy have dropped: from $20 million in 2007 to just $10 million in 2023. Cuyahoga County Council voted unanimously in June to put an initiative for a 3.5-cent-per-cigarette tax on the November ballot to replace the 1.5-cent-per-cigarette, expected to raise $160 million over 10 years.

Arts and cultural groups large and small receive critical funding support from CAC via these funds: regional organizations such as Playhouse Square and the Cleveland Orchestra as well as Lakewood-based organizations including The Beck Center, LakewoodAlive, and the Lakewood Young Filmmakers Academy, among others. In total, CAC has distributed $246 million via more than 4,000 grants to 485 non-profits at more than 2,000 locations, resulting in $533 million in economic activity and 8,637 jobs in 2022-2023 alone.

Lakewood's own Mike Gill has written in the Collective Arts Network Journal, "The smallest organizations need it the most. All the region’s arts infrastructure would take a big hit if the tax does not pass...And that infrastructure is a huge support system for individual artists. They depend on studios, like Zygote Press, Morgan Conservatory, Praxis Fiber Workshop, and others to provide facilities and tools for their work. They are hired to teach at community arts centers like BAYarts, Beck Center, Art House, Valley Art Center, and more. Their exhibits engage the community at venues like Waterloo Arts, Karamu House, and Cleveland Print Room…The same…applies to theatres, orchestras, dance companies."

Lakewood has always supported the arts, and we are home to many artists, performing arts institutions, and creators who receive support from these funds. Supporting this funding initiative is supporting them, investing in ourselves, improving education, and enrichening our quality of life.

Please join us in supporting them, our community, and Issue 55 on the ballot this fall!

Tom Bullock serves Lakewood residents as their at-Large representative on City Council. Share ideas or concerns with Tom at 216-395-7LWD (-7593) or tom.bullock@lakewoodoh.net.