After posing questions that the arts sector has faced for years, Cuyahoga County Council unanimously moved Tuesday night (June 4) to put before voters the option to replace the current cigarette tax for the arts. The third reading by County Council makes it official: the opportunity to approve or deny an increase from 1.5 cents to 3.5 cents per cigarette […]
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The Cuyahoga Arts and Culture board of directors answered a couple of questions that have hung over the public art funding agency for its recent history. In a unanimous roll call vote, the board approved a resolution to put a 3.5 cent per-cigarette tax before voters in November, for the first time committing to when the issue would be on […]
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Educators talk about “teachable moments”– those times when learning comes easily because something happens that makes information relevant. This is one of those times for people concerned about public funding for the arts in Cuyahoga County. As if to highlight the need to find something other than a cigarette tax to provide such revenue, a recent State of Ohio budget […]
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In 2006, the voters of Cuyahoga County made a bold and historic decision: they approved a 1.5 cent-per-cigarette tax that generates more than $15 million each year to support arts and culture organizations and projects. The levy was an innovative idea designed to help Cleveland reclaim its historic role as a cultural hub for the nation. Its impact has been […]
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Just in case you missed it, Ohio House Bill 86, as passed by the Ohio Senate, includes a provision for Ohio Counties to offer voters a 3 percent tax on marijuana for the arts. The provision was added by Senator Kent Smith, who saw an opportunity for the arts and culture sector to benefit from the new law—and make up […]
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The arts sector in Cuyahoga County has long sought a way to stabilize the revenue stream for its public support, which since 2006 has been a 30-cent per pack tax on cigarettes. Among many other possibilities discussed by policy makers or suggested (taxing real estate, hotel stays, dine-in restaurant meals, beer and wine, soft drinks) the prospect of a tax […]
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Arts funding in Cuyahoga County could get a significant boost by the end of 2023. Just before Christmas, 2022, The Ohio legislature passed a bill that includes permission for Cuyahoga County to put before its voters a revision of the cigarette tax that supports the arts. Governor Mike Dewine signed the bill January 2. Jeremy Johnson, director of the advocacy […]
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The effort to get additional public money to support the arts in Cuyahoga County is a lesson in taking what you can get. That’s been true from the beginning, but the current push to extend the cigarette tax beyond just cigarettes makes the point all over again. Counties seeking authority to tax for a specific purpose have to get permission […]
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It’s become CAN’s holiday tradition in the second half of December to let you know which of our stories were the most-read in the last year. In 2024, money and the art world version of “hard news” dominate the list. That’s a stark contrast to 2023’s list, when highlights included Erin O’Brien’s report on artists painting recycled wind turbine blades […]
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Thanks to the voters of Cuyahoga County, Issue 55–the cigarette tax for the arts–has passed. And once again, public support for the arts has passed overwhelmingly, with unofficial results reporting 72 percent of voters in favor of the measure. That boosts the tax on cigarettes to 70 cents per pack, which at least in the near term will lift public […]
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