Jersey City Adopts Arts and Culture Trust Fund Committee

JERSEY CITY, NJ — The Jersey City Municipal Council unanimously approved the adoption of an Arts and Culture Trust Fund Committee at last week's meeting.

The ordinance was brought to the City Council after voters in November approved an Arts and Culture Trust Fund to create funding sources for artists and arts organizations in the city. The fund is the first municipal fun in the state and is expected to generate $1 million annually in critical long-term funding for Jersey City’s arts community.

In March, the council voted to set the tax levy to one-quarter of a penny per $100 of assessed property value — so a homeowner with an assessed value of $100,000 would pay about $20 a year to the fund in taxes.

The majority of the funds, 95 percent, will be distributed by the Arts and Culture Trust Fund Committee while the other 5 percent are distributed by the Jersey City Arts and Culture Council, which will be working alongside the committee, according to the ordinance.

The committee will consist of seven members, as follows:

a. The Mayor or his/her designee

b. Six residents of Jersey City representing each Ward (A-F), nominated through an open public nomination form and appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of Council

c. One non-voting designee of the Jersey City Arts Council

d. One non-voting designee of the Jersey City Director of Cultural Affairs

e. One non-voting City Council member or their designee

Mayor Fulop spent two years working closely with the Jersey City Arts Council to lobby state legislators to implement the mechanisms that would allow for long-term arts funding. Jersey City was the first to take action when the state bill was signed into law by the Governor in December 2019, allowing municipalities to implement an Arts and Culture Trust Fund.