The City of London is deliberating on its upcoming multi-year budget. CBC London summarizes the general tone of Mayor Josh Morgan's proposed budget as cuts or refusals across the board. FCG's Board is heartened to see some much-needed budget increases to transit and paratransit in the city, and some minimal but welcomed increases to public washrooms in the downtown core. However, the London Arts Council, Museum London, the Grand Theatre, and the London Public Library are either receiving a fraction of what they've requested, or their requests have been refused. Mayor Morgan's proposed budget prioritizes increased funding to policing: the police budget increase of $672 million represents more than half of the 2024 city budget, accounting for 5.0% of the proposed 8.8% tax increase. CBC London has outlined what this police budget increase entails.Â
As an advocacy-driven arts organization, we are concerned with the proposed budget. Our programming is attentive to current cultural conversations: our current exhibition with artists Rima Sater and Laura Acosta emphasizes themes of belonging, alienation, visibility and agency. Our forthcoming solo exhibition with artist Gina A'Loisio addresses the physical and psychological effects of treating our bodies as capital. The current budget draft reflects a fiscally unbalanced budget that provides unilateral financial support to the London Police at the expense of numerous arts and cultural organizations and non-profits, as well as on-the-ground organizations and non-profits that offer essential services that support at-risk communities.Â
FCG urges Mayor Morgan and City Councillors to: send back the Police budget for revisions; conduct further research on mental health, housing and homelessness supports; consider the voices of your constituents by adequately consulting community organizations and members; fund grassroots organizations and non-profits that do essential and on-the-ground work to support at-risk groups; fund more organizations and non-profits in the arts and cultural sectors, including the London Arts Council, Museum London, the Grand Theatre, an the London Public Library.
We've asked our Membership to send us their responses and concerns about the budget, and we've compiled a number of those concerns here:
We have sent this information package to Mayor Josh Morgan and to all city councillors. We have also invited them to visit FCG and talk with us directly in order to hear more about our community's experiences and concerns as arts and cultural workers.
Want to lend your voice to this conversation? We encourage anyone to copy and paste the first three paragraphs of this text, along with your own personal statements and concerns, in an email or form letter to your city representative and to the Mayor. Find your city representative here!
Further Reading: