Local

Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville's spending habits under scrutiny

A clash between a city councilman and the leader of the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville is playing out at City Hall.

The organization is pushing for more funding in this year’s budget, but one city councilman believes the money is being mismanaged.

The CCGJ is responsible for distributing funds to organizations like the Museum of Contemporary Art in Jacksonville, also known as MOCA, the Jacksonville Symphony, and the Museum of Science and History, or MOSH.

Its mission is to advocate for arts and culture.

Mayor Lenny Curry allocated about $2.8 million into the upcoming budget for the CCGJ, but CCGJ executive director Tony Allegretti is asking for a little over a million more.

“What we have asked for is about $3.9 million, and I should say that’s less than the all-time high in 2002, [when] the cultural council received over $4 million,” said Allegretti.

But At-Large Councilman John Crescimbeni, who serves as a liaison on the CCGJ board, believes the money used for the organization’s administrative expenses is being mismanaged.

“I think you have a duty to make sure that those administrative expenses are spent efficiently and kept to a minimum, and they’ve had some glaring examples of not doing that,” said Crescimbeni.

According to Crescimbeni, one example of that is the profit and loss statement from an awards gala CCGJ held at the U.S. Assure Club at TIAA Bank Field earlier this year.

It showed it was budgeted for $30,000 but actually cost more than $89,000.

“I did make some mistakes on budget assumptions because we were doing it at a city-owned facility. I didn’t project that it would cost as much as it did,” said Allegretti.

Allegretti says the event did not use city money and made nearly $17,000, although he admits that’s less than what they expected to make.

He also points to the fact that the money to host the gala was poured into a city-owned facility.

“We are not talking about lavish gifts. There was no gross (misuse) of funds, it’s just expensive to hold the event,” said Allegretti.

Allegretti said the increase they’re asking the city for will have a return on investment.

“The economic impact of those organizations is over $80 million, arguably the best investment that the city makes,” said Allegretti.

Crescimbeni said he’s not opposed to giving them more money, but he’d like to see changes first

“As a taxpayer watchdog, I am not happy with what I've seen,” said Crescimbeni. “I would not be able to give him any additional funding under their present operating model.”

The mayor’s budget is still under review. In the meantime, Allegretti has announced that his last day with the cultural council is on Sept. 30.

The search for a replacement is underway.