$259,750 Budget OKd for Cultural Center

Saying the new Cultural Arts Center is slowly but steadily establishing itself in the community, City Council members have approved a $259,750 budget for the center during the coming fiscal year.

Several Simi Valley council members called the budget--which predicts spending just $16,000 on advertising and $24,500 on artists’ fees--a bare-bones financial plan for the center, which opened last November.

But with the center still trying to raise money to fund its operations, frugal budgets are a necessity, Mayor Greg Stratton said.

“It’s pretty tight, but we’re going to have to continue to do that until the place builds up its reputation,” he said.

The council also voted Monday to set up a bank account for the center’s operating expenses using the city’s tax identification number.

Until now, the center’s accounts have used the identification number of the center’s fund-raising foundation, whose members originally oversaw the building’s operations.

However, the City Council voted in February to give operational control to a new committee, a move designed to let foundation members focus solely on fund-raising.

As a result, city staff members recommended that a new operating account be established using the city’s identification number.