Baltimore City board members make final vote to cut ties with arts organization BOPA
BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore City Board of Estimates voted to end the city's contract with the Baltimore Office of Promotion and The Arts on Wednesday.
The city informed the organization in October of its intent to utilize the 90-day termination clause in the City's contract with the arts organization.
"I came to this role, committed to partnership, committed to making a difference and committed to working together with the administration to actually right the ship of an organization that through numerous sources, was concerning, challenged and the like," BOPA CEO Rachel D. Graham said at Wednesday's meeting.
BOPA said in a statement that it will remain an independent 501c3 arts advocacy organization.
"While we respect the City's decision, The Baltimore Office of PROMOTION and the Arts remains an independent 501c3 arts advocacy organization," BOPA said. "We are appreciative of the 42-year relationship with the City and look forward to what the future holds as we continue to serve the Baltimore arts community."
Financial troubles
BOPA has organized many city events, including the annual Artscape Festival. However, the organization has faced a series of financial troubles.
As of October, the non-profit was set to operate at a deficit for the remainder of the year that could reach $650,000.
"The organization realized that we've been doing too much with too little for too long," Graham said in front of the board on Wednesday. "It costs $5.3 million to do the work that we do, in addition to the five events that we are asked to produce and raise funds for, plus raise dollars to support the arts community. That is very, very difficult to handle."
Graham, who was named the new CEO of BOPA in June hired an outside consulting firm, Marcum LLP, to help the non-profit sort out its finances. The firm also conducted a financial audit per the request of Mayor Brandon Scott.
The firm found that BOPA's financial issues span as far back as 2019. Graham said that in FY2019 the deficit was just under $1.1 million, and in FY2020 was $53,756.
"When I came into the organization, I realized and found out that there had not been a reconciliation of our books since June of 2023 which means that there was not an actual spaced budget for me to work from to determine what needed to be paid, how things needed to be paid with the financial situation what the organization was," Graham said.
Effort to save BOPA
More than 80 artists across Baltimore signed a petition and wrote a letter to the city in support of BOPA. However, the spending board voted unanimously to cut ties with the arts organization.
"The termination of this contract, also means that you will be terminating us at the Arts Council of Baltimore, and for lack of a better way to put it, it's really not fair to have not given this body and this president and this staff the actual time to right the ship, to look at a better way to do the business of this organization," Graham said.
BOPA's interim treasurer Angela Wells-Sims spoke up at Wednesday's Board of Estimates to defend the organization.
She suggested that the city had a false perception of the actual progress that BOPA had made in its efforts to resolve its financial issues.
"A specific example of this includes allowing us to roll out advisory boards so that we can strengthen community trust and support and better understand the needs of the arts community," Wells-Sims said..
What's next?
Mayor Scott said his office will look at what will happen with BOPA, how they will transition and continue to support the Baltimore arts community.
"I think we were so decisive because my job is to make sure that the money, taxpayer money that Baltimoreans and trust is spent in an appropriate way," Scott said.
