TRENTON — In his budget signed yesterday, Gov. Chris Christie foiled a controversial attempt by Democrats to steer money from the New Jersey Council on the Arts to the Newark Museum, Battleship New Jersey and the Old Barracks Museum in Trenton. The Democrats' proposal included language that mandated grants of $2.1 million for the Newark Museum, $1.7 million for...
The Newark Museum, seen in this 2010 file photo. Gov. Christie stopped an attempt by Democrats to divert money from NJ Council on the Arts to this museum, among others, yesterday.TRENTON — In his budget signed yesterday, Gov. Chris Christie foiled a controversial attempt by Democrats to steer money from the New Jersey Council on the Arts to the Newark Museum, Battleship New Jersey and the Old Barracks Museum in Trenton.
The Democrats' proposal included language that mandated grants of $2.1 million for the Newark Museum, $1.7 million for the battleship and $375,000 for the barracks come out of the $16 million budget for the council.
Arts leaders cried foul at the attempt because they said it left the council with $11.7 million, a 27 percent decrease, that could go to the nonprofit arts community. They also said it undermined the council's oversight of the grant money.
Traditionally, $4.2 million for the three sites came from dedicated line items in the general budget.
"The entire arts community owes a debt of gratitude to the governor for interceding to ensure that the arts council is funded at the level at which it was intended," said Mark Packer, president of ArtPride NJ, the statewide arts advocacy organization.
But the lack of guaranteed money for the three sites leaves them in a state of limbo. Richard Patterson, executive director of the Old Barracks Museum, which celebrates the American Revolution, said the organization is in serious jeopardy.
"Without a serious influx of cash from a variety of sources, whatever they would be, or at least the assurance of major sources of cash, what we have can probably take us into the early to mid fall," Patterson said.
He said he was not aware of any legislative appetite for a supplemental spending bill to pay for the barracks.
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