Arlington performing arts groups concerned about new county fees

Arlington County has changed the way that it bills performing art groups for their services, causing some concern amongst advocates.

Starting July 1, the county is moving from charging groups 10% surcharges for tickets to charging a fee per hour each time a staff member or contractor provides services in a theater owned by a county or school system.

Arlington Economic Development has been subsidizing the theater staffing costs at around $145,000 per year. Although not all performing art groups will experience an increase in costs, many are upset about the change.

Adam Green, chair of the Arlington Commission for the Arts at a Budget Work Session on March 25, said, “The feedback is not great.”

AED, which is the part of county government that oversees the support of arts groups, said that the current levels of expenditure are not sustainable.

At the budget hearing, AED Director Ryan Touhill said: “At some stage, I won’t have any money.”

He said that he could not provide the same level of service as he did before without recouping additional costs.

According to county estimates, the cost to the county of at least half of the 13 arts organizations that currently use county facilities will decrease under the new arrangement. The new hourly charge would be paid directly by the arts organizations, unlike the surcharge that is added to ticket prices.

The performing arts organizations affected have not been willing to comment on the matter, either in public or off-the-record. Requests for comments about the situation from two major county arts organizations that use government-owned facilities during budget season were not answered.

In an effort to avoid the imposition of “exorbitant fees,” several arts groups used social media to promote their March 25th “Call to Action”.

One post stated that “[performing-arts] groups would not be able exist under the proposed model of financial management.”

Susan Cunningham, a board member, used the budget hearing as a platform to express her concerns regarding the proposed changes.

Cunningham added, “That’s an enormous lift in a time that is already pretty difficult for our arts community.” “Maybe we can soften the blow.”

Her colleagues eventually agreed and chose to reduce the hourly charges for staff proposed by County Manager Mark Schwartz. The range between $35 and $47 per an hour, depending upon the job description, has been reduced to $23 to $30 per hour.

AED would not have recovered all of the costs associated with staffing rehearsal and show facilities under Schwartz’s higher structure. The Board approved a lower hourly rate that will bring the net revenue closer to $24,000.

These charges affect productions at the theatres associated with Thomas Jefferson and Gunston Middle Schools, as well as some at Theatre on the Run.

Green said county leaders must be willing to support performing arts in the county, even if budgets are tight.

He said, “We need to build a solid foundation for the things that bring us together.” “The arts and libraries bring us together like nothing else.”