Arts groups push for Miami-Dade mayor to restore proposed funding cuts

Miami Herald

12-08-2025

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava is scrambling to address the local arts community after an announced restructuring and budget cuts to the county's Department of Cultural Affairs.
In the 2025-26 budget proposal, the Cultural Affairs Department would be eliminated as a standalone entity and instead would be consolidated into the Miami-Dade County Department of Arts, Culture and Library Services.
In addition to the restructuring of the Department of Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Affairs director position will be eliminated. The present Cultural Affairs director, Marialaura Leslie, has already tendered her resignation effective Aug. 31.
The budget also calls for a cut of 52 percent (almost $13 million) in county financial support for arts organizations in Miami-Dade County. On Monday the chair of the County Commission, Anthony Rodriguez, released a memo calling for restoring $6.25 million of the cultural cuts by using newfound revenues from the independent Tax Collector's office.
Miami's arts community has been vocally critical of the mayor's budget proposal. A memorandum from Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to the chairman of the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners dated Aug. 7 gave arts groups a glimmer of hope. The subject line read: 'Efforts to Restore Budget Cuts to Parks, Community Organizations and Cultural Arts Programs.'
In the memorandum, Levine Cava stated that her office has 'actively engaged philanthropic organizations and private sector partners to explore opportunities for supplemental funding.' It continues: 'Preliminary discussions have shown promise, particularly around support for local arts initiatives and efforts to keep our national recognized Cultural Affairs Department a stand-alone department.'
Beth Boone, artistic and executive director of Miami Light Project, co-founder of the Miami Cultural Coalition, and a member of the steering committee of Miami-Dade Arts Action Alliance, commenting on the mayor's memorandum, said: 'The cultural community, which is massive and united, is pleased that Mayor Levine Cava is listening and paying attention to our cause. That said, nothing is determined until there is a final vote on the budget. We remain steadfast in our pursuit of what is right for our community.'
As the director of grants and cultural affairs for Miami Beach Pride, Carol Coombes said there is reason to question the viability of the exploration of supplemental funding from sources outside of the county.
'While the Mayor has stated that she is engaging with philanthropists, we must ask, who are they?' said Coombes, whose organization receives funding from the Festivals and Special Events (FEST) grants program from the Miami‑Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. Groups like the Knight Foundation or the Perez Family Foundation tend to favor funding short-term projects, and not ongoing operating support that groups receive from grants, said Coombes.
The arts and cultural community was still reeling from cuts by the state of Florida, when only two weeks before the 2024-25 fiscal year began, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed more than $32 million in state arts grants. The Department of Cultural Affairs support was a lifeline for many.
Renee Pesci, executive director of the Arts & Business Council of Miami, says that with the latest threats, the arts community has been mobilizing — organizing to show up at budget meetings and requesting meetings with the mayor and county commissioners. Last year, arts groups came together to form the Miami-Dade Arts Action Alliance when the Department of Cultural Affairs had its 2024–25 budget slashed from $25.5 million down to $23.1 million. In response, the county managed to restore $1.5 million and supplement it with $400,000 from private donations, but it was still only a partial recovery.
This year's cuts are part of Levine Cava's plan closing what her administration says is a $402 million gap between forecasted tax revenues and expenses tied to those tax dollars.
'The focus right now needs to be to get the community out to these town halls and budget hearings, so that they can give impassioned details of exactly the impact of these cuts on their organizations,' said Pesci. 'What we want the commissioners to know is that these cuts don't only impact the arts groups but also impact their economy. Every dollar Miami-Dade County invests in the arts leverages an additional $42. We want them to know that we don't just take money from the county, there needs to be a consideration as to how much we give back.'
The Miami-Dade commission meetings on Sept. 4 and Sept. 18 will have public forums to discuss the proposed budget. The mayor has scheduled a virtual town hall to address the arts and culture budget for Aug. 19.
During the State of the Arts in Miami Dade County Address in March of 2024, Cava called the arts and culture sector 'an important social, economic, and tourism drive for Miami Dade County,' and touted the statistics: 'The economic impact of the arts in Miami-Dade County is $2.1 billion and the arts generate 32,000 local jobs.'
Though the mayor is expressing interest in addressing the dire situation Miami-Dade's arts and cultural community is facing, Boone said interest isn't enough.
'We will not tire from advocating a complete restoration of an independent Department of Cultural Affairs and a fully restored – meaning 100 percent — of all grant programs for the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. Anything other than these outcomes is unacceptable for the community,' said Boone.