A small shift in spending priorities means a big win for both the County’s community grants program and its arts organizations.

A new Arts Fund, created with funds from the Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT), will leave a larger community grants pot for organizations dedicated to social services, food security, health, housing, volunteerism, heritage, and the environment.

Julianne Snepsts, of the Community Services, Programs, and Initiatives Department, and Dominique Jones, Executive Director of The County Foundation, the third-party organization which has administered the community grants program for the County since 2016, together led a comprehensive review of program over the past six months.

Extensive consultations with the non-profits and community groups eligible to apply led to a proposal to create a new PEC Arts Fund by allocating $50,000 from the County’s share of annual MAT revenue.

In turn, The County Foundation offers  a $25,000 matching contribution, to create a dedicated fund for arts-directed organizations, one that can leverage support from private donors and local businesses the way the County Foundation’s other funds and granting streams do.

“A separate arts-sector fund creates the potential for outside contributions. Rather than being approached by multiple different groups or for different events, would-be donors can make a single contribution to an arts-dedicated fund and know their money will support the arts across the County,” said Ms. Jones.

“If we carve out arts sector support this way, it actually increases the bucket for community grants. It’s a win-win,” she continued. “All community groups will benefit, not just the arts sector.”

Janna Smith, Director of County Arts, noted her organization represents over 300 members, and depends on municipal support in the absence of any increase in provincial funding since 2009.

“A 2024 member survey of the local arts sector suggested $200,000 in arts funding was required to adequately respond to the needs of arts organizations and allow the arts here to truly flourish,” she said.

“We look forward to seeing the fund grow to meet this visionary target, and to seeing an arts funding landscape that reflects the uniqueness and impact of PEC’s artists and arts organizations.”

The Regent Theatre’s Artistic Director, Alexandra Seay, noted “The Regent currently receives no operational funding from the municipality.” 

“The theatre has closed before; some of us remember what a hole that created on Main Street.”

New Roads for Tourist Revenue

The MAT, a 4 percent surcharge on the cost of a nightly stay in the County, is collected by hoteliers, holiday homeowners, and bed and breakfasts and remitted to the County.

In 2023, the tourist tax generated $1,568,466, including $46,000 in accrued interest.

That’s an increase of over $300,000 from 2022, when the MAT generated $1.2 million. Director of Finance Amanda Carter attributes the rise not to increased tourism, but to better enforcement measures.

In other words, the County can expect to collect about $1.5 million a year in tourist-generated revenues.

Half the proceeds stay with the County, while the other half must fund its tourist management organizations, Visit the County and StayPEC.

After staffing costs ($112,000) were subtracted, $1.456 million was shared out in 2024. $728,000 went to the municipality for spending priorities determined in the 2024 budget. The other half funded StayPEC ($105,000) and VTC ($623,000).

Since the MAT funds started to flow in 2022, the County has elected to spend its share of the revenue on road maintenance and construction. In 2023, $700,000 in collected MAT went to Roads Construction. The 2024 Budget contains a MAT reserve of $912,000. $419,000 went to Road Construction.

At the Committee of the Whole meeting earlier this month, Councillors agreed there is a clear link between tourist revenues and fostering arts and culture as a signal economic driver in the County. 

Councillor Bill Roberts asked if the arts sector was the only possible new recipient for such funds, noting sports and heritage also drive tourism.

Ms. Snepsts agreed, noting “Our destination management organizations, StayPEC and VTC, would like to see more alignment between their strategic objectives and the municipality’s MAT spend.”

CAO Marcia Wallace noted that MAT revenue spending priorities were a key item up for discussion at Council’s budget talks in December. “There will be other conversations and proposals in budget as to where that money should go,” she promised.

Mayor Steve Ferguson asked whether Visit the County had been approached about contributing to the new Arts Fund. Ms. Snepsts said she was engaging both VTC and StayPEC in a conversation about “what’s their job and what is our job when it comes to spending in this community.”

“I look forward to hearing the outcome of what should be a very interesting conversation,” said the Mayor. “Visit the County and other tourist-related organizations drive their business out of the arts.” 

A Community Effort

28 community organizations were consulted in the review process. Taking arts-mandated organizations out of this pool reduces it by 10, or about one third. Another two organizations, theRoc and Community Care for Seniors, are beneficiaries of what will now be called Exceptional Funding Partnerships. Such community partners demonstrate exceptional alignment with municipal plans and strategies, and offer important municipal services. Their funding is therefore outside of the community grants envelope.

The creation of the Arts Fund and the Exceptional Community Partnerships leaves a smaller pool of non-profits and community groups to apply to the existing Community Grants program, whose funding will not be affected by the creation of the new Arts Fund. Council will allocate a total of $164,000 to the Community Grants pool, as in previous years. 

Updates to eligibility criteria include allowing service clubs to apply. Business associations, however, are now ineligible, as their primary purpose is to serve their members rather than the broader community. Organizations with less than 12 months of operating history are also ineligible. Funding will now include both operational and project-based funding, and allow for multi-year grants.

The County Foundation will now take full responsibility for both granting programs, which will have similar operating structures, application processes, adjudication, and the same maximum grant of $15,000.