A prominent museum in downtown Kitchener will receive the same amount of funding from the city it has for the past five years.
Councillors voted 9-2 Monday in favour of granting TheMuseum’s request for $120,000 in funding.
Coun. Zyg Janecki and Coun. John Gazzola were the two votes opposed, citing concerns about giving TheMuseum more money than other arts and culture organizations.
“We have literally hundreds of other organizations that are either starting out or in their early years, and that need support,” Gazzola said.
Before voting, councillors heard from TheMuseum CEO David Marskell, who said not receiving the $120,000 could result in cutbacks in program offerings or other facets of the organization.
“If we want to bring an exhibit in in the fall, they want a cheque for tens of thousands now,” he said after the vote.
While $120,000 only represents about 5 per cent of TheMuseum’s total budget, Marskell said receiving it at this time of year helps significantly with the organization’s cash flow situation.
