Dramatic shifts at Grants for the Arts point to changing S.F. arts sfchronicle.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sfchronicle.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Funds would come from parts of city budget that outperformed expectations, such as property taxes.
Lily Janiak February 23, 2021Updated: February 26, 2021, 10:45 pm
San Francisco Mayor London Breed: “When we talk about our recovery from this pandemic, it’s essential that we include the arts.” Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, The Chronicle 2020
San Francisco Mayor London Breed introduced a funding proposal to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Feb. 23, to give one-time support of $16.3 million to arts companies that would have been affected by a more than 80% shortfall in hotel tax revenue.
In the current fiscal year, the city anticipated generating $25.9 million for the arts via the hotel tax but collected only $3.9 million, as tourism nosedived due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The mayor’s proposed backfill, which is co-sponsored by Supervisors Aaron Peskin, Hillary Ronen, Shamann Walton, Matt Haney and Catherine Stefani, would make up for most but not all of the deficit, d