![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.raleighpublicrecord.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/city-museum-2.jpg\")
\nRen\u00e9e Foster and Bo Hemphill visit the Raleigh City Museum as the museum works to fill a $30,000 budget gap. Photo by Bryan LeClaire.<\/strong><\/center><\/p>\n
The Raleigh City Museum is requesting $15,000 from the City Council to supplement its budget for the next fiscal year.<\/p>\n
The money would go toward filling a $30,000 budget shortfall caused by a faulty air conditioner and a rental vacancy in the museum\u2019s downtown Briggs Building location.<\/p>\n
Intended to pay for general operating expenses, the $15,000 would add to the $157,500 that the museum has already received from the city for the current fiscal year.<\/p>\n
The remainder of the financial gap would come from the A.J. Fletcher Foundation, second only to the city as a funding source for the museum. The museum\u2019s total budget is $303,000.<\/p>\n
As 20-percent owner of the Briggs Building, the nonprofit City Museum reaps the benefits of building income distribution every year. Although the museum pays $93,000 in annual rent, its net rent amounts to about $60,000 after this payout.<\/p>\n
But economic hardship has forced the A.J. Fletcher Foundation, 40-percent owner and third-floor tenant of the Briggs Building, to vacate the premises. Although a new occupant has moved into the empty space, the museum is now shouldering a larger portion of the rent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got them in with a teaser rate on the rent,\u201d said Greg Paul, chair of the museum\u2019s board of trustees. \u201cUltimately it will be a good thing, with increased revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Combined with air conditioning repairs, the current rent adjustment resulted in the $30,000 budget hole.<\/p>\n
The city council\u2019s Budget and Economic Development Committee was to hear the museum\u2019s request at its meeting of Tuesday, February 8, but no representative from the museum showed up.<\/p>\n
The funding request is not slated for discussion at the next BED Committee meeting. Paul, however, remains optimistic about its chances. \u201cI have personally had a conversation with every city councilor, and they are all on board with this request,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.raleighpublicrecord.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/city-museum-1.jpg\")
\nHats and one big gun on display at the Raleigh City Museum. Photo by Bryan LeClaire.<\/strong><\/center><\/p>\n
Programming for a New Generation<\/strong><\/p>\n In addition to the funding request, the museum will present a plan to form a committee charged with giving future exhibits an up-to-date flavor more consistent with trends at other museums.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of our exhibits are artifacts and information printed on placards and stuck on a wall,\u201d said Paul. \u201cIncluding technology is what makes us able to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul believes that a renovation of programming will garner new funding sources among technology and tech-related companies in the Triangle area.<\/p>\n Although the exact make-up and structure of the proposed committee has yet to be determined, Mayor Charles Meeker speculated that the city would appoint representatives. \u201cAs the major supporter [of the museum], naturally they would want to make sure we\u2019re on board with what they\u2019re talking about,\u201d said Meeker.<\/p>\n Paul understands the city\u2019s interest and frames the trustees\u2019 intentions this way: \u201cHow are we parlaying the investment that the city makes into more?\u201d<\/p>\n The push toward a more tech-savvy style is not prompted by a drop or stagnation in attendance. In 2010, the museum saw approximately 23,000 visitors, according to Donna Martin-Devine, director of visitor services. This number includes participants in on-site and off-site educational programs, exhibit openings, First Night events, and the Homebrewed beer fest.<\/p>\n \u201cAttendance has certainly remained steady or increased because we\u2019re attracting younger folks,\u201d said Martin-Devine.<\/p>\n Because the museum does not charge admittance, attendance does not generate revenue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Raleigh City Museum is requesting $15,000 from the City Council to supplement its budget for the next fiscal year. The money would go toward filling a $30,000 budget shortfall caused by a faulty air conditioner and a rental vacancy in the museum\u2019s downtown Briggs Building location.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24030,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,15,23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5412"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24030"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5412\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}