COLUMBIA — As part of state budget cuts, the Missouri Arts Council will lose about $4.4 million in state funding, about half of what they were originally allocated. But the council will take that amount from its trust fund.
The Missouri Arts Council Trust Fund, created by income tax paid by nonresident, professional athletes and entertainers, supplied the $4.4 million to the council so it could honor its grant commitments, Executive Director Beverly Strohmeyer said.
"We will be taking the money out of our trust fund to make up the difference,”Strohmeyer said. The cuts will not affect the grants the council awarded in July, she said. These grants fund more than 500 nonprofit organizations for arts programs.
As previously reported by the Missourian, Gov. Jay Nixon announced $204 million in budget cuts Wednesday, which will result in the elimination of approximately 200 full-time jobs and about 500 part-time jobs that affect state departments.