Highlights Archives
Budget Squeeze Could Close Wisconsin Historical Museum
The Wisconsin Historical Society, facing a state-mandated edict to develop a plan for meeting a 10-percent state tax-supported (GPR) budget reduction target in the 2005-07 biennium, would have to close the Wisconsin Historical Museum on Madison's Capitol Square and lay off eight permanent staff in order to meet the reduction target. Another 5.75 vacant full-time-equivalent (FTE) positions would also be eliminated for a total job loss impact of 13.75 FTE positions. The plan was adopted Thursday, Nov. 11, at a special meeting of the Historical Society's Board of Curators. The move would reduce the Society's budget for the 2005-07 biennium by $904,600. But the board also voted unanimously to work with the governor and legislators so they fully understand the impact of the potential loss as the budget process moves forward.
Submission of a 10-percent budget reduction plan for the Society is required by the state Department of Administration.
"The Society had no option but to comply with the required adoption of a budget reduction plan," said Historical Society Director Ellsworth H. Brown. "But I want to be very clear that we will do everything in our power to inform people of the implications. This is the state history museum, the only one of its kind, and we’re talking about the potential loss of an institution that embodies the very heritage of the people of Wisconsin, said Brown.
In framing its budget reduction plan, the Society followed the directive of Gov. Jim Doyle and the Department of Administration, which urged state agencies to avoid making across-the-board cuts and focus instead on consolidating or eliminating specific programs.
Wisconsin Historical Society President Mark Gajewski put the matter into more long-range perspective, citing the critical importance of the museum's location on Madison's Capitol Square.
"Not only would closure of the state history museum create a huge gap in the timeline of Wisconsin history, but the museum's role as a highly visible cultural institution — one sited prominently on the Capitol Square, almost literally in the shadow of the state Capitol and just yards from the new Overture Center — would have a devastating impact on Madison's most vibrant space," said Gajewski.
The budget reduction plan would leave the museum with a skeleton staff of just four permanent positions. This would allow a minimal curatorial staff to care for the museum's extensive collections, and a museum shop manager who is not funded by state tax revenues.
To comply with four rounds of mandated permanent reductions since July 1, 2001, the Society has already cut more than $2 million of state tax-supported funds. Those permanent cuts have resulted in the elimination of 30 permanent positions, or 24 percent of the Society's staff.
:: Posted November 12, 2004
|
