DOWNTOWN TALLAHASSEE, FL — The Leon County Commission is set to discuss a variety of topics at Tuesday's Commission meeting.
Big issues, including the potential restructuring of funding for COCA, the Council on Culture and Arts. Right now, grant funding for COCA is administered by the County and distributed by COCA's board. The agenda item for Tuesday's meeting could restructure that funding so COCA would come under Leon County's Tourism Division. Per the agenda, County staff say this would save $213,000, during a time when future revenue for Counties through streams like property taxes remains uncertain.
Staff with COCA say this restructuring would drastically change how COCA operates, and how it administers funding to groups like the Tallahassee Ballet.
County discussion started last September when Commissioners flagged COCA's reserve totaling $2 million. Kathleen Spehar, COCA Executive Director, told ABC 27's Brienna Smith that the amount in their reserve is about $900,000 - money that is already committed to groups.
Spehar also told ABC 27 that the restructuring would result in a loss of funding for COCA's art programming, with a projected 33% cut to arts grants by 2028.
Spehar said that would have a huge impact.
Data from COCA shows that for every dollar the County gives COCA, they generate $1.73 in outside funding. Spehar also said it's a 10:1 return on investment for arts organizations.
"Overall when you're looking at the arts and culture sector, it's about a $204 million return on investment for this County, that's only non-profit arts organizations," Sephar said.
The other option for the County is to keep the funding model the same and not put COCA under the County's tourism division.
Commissioners are set to discuss this item during Tuesday's Commission meeting and make a decision.
Other hot topics include drafting a charter amendment to address the impact of past policies on community progress. ABC 27's Maya Sargent has been following up on these discussions. County staff have previously warned that this amendment could conflict with new legislation recently signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, cracking down on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies within local governments. Advocates for the charter amendment say it's not about DEI or reparations.
"I don't accept that it's not possible to do. We're simply asking to look at historic data, historic policies, see what took place, and then see how did it impact us today, and how can we be better, and how can we make the necessary changes to fix those communities," said Bruce Strouble, with Tallahassee ALERT, the person behind the original proposal.
County Commissioners will also discuss a potential increase in the Solid Waste fee for unincorporated Leon County residents. Agenda materials show the fee has not been increased for 30 years. The County proposes upping this fee from $40 to between $80-$84 a year, that's due to "ongoing and new budgetary constraints that are significantly impacting the FY 2027 budget development process."
ABC 27 will be at the County Commission meeting, and will be bringing you updates throughout the evening as we learn more about these issues.
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