Arts and culture funding was extended as voters supported Issue 55

Cuyahoga County voters approved a cigarette tax that will continue to fund arts and culture in the county.

Here are the unofficial results as of midnight, with 342,091 (71.52%) voting for the measure and 136,222 (28.48%) voting against.

The 10-year tax would raise $160 million for Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC), which provides grants to nonprofit arts organizations ranging from well-known arts institutions to community-based groups. CAC is an independent political subdivision. Although the Cuyahoga County Board of Supervisors appoints the CAC Board members and the Cuyahoga County Council appoints them, the board operates independently of the county.

Cuyahoga County has had such a tax for nearly two decades, but it has generated less revenue due to declining cigarette sales. Issue 55 increases the tax on cigarettes. That means CAC will have to spend $16 million a year, up from $10 million, according to advocates. The tax once brought in $20 million a year.

“We are thrilled,” said Jill M. Paulsen, executive director of CAC. “This is huge. This will allow us to continue funding nonprofits until 2035, which is really important. Many hard years have passed in which our sales have declined.

“This (Issue 55) gives us a chance for a fresh start,” she said. “We can continue to work with these great nonprofits that are doing good work in every single zip code in the community.”

Jeremy Johnson, president and CEO of Assembly for the Arts, agreed that the passage of Issue 55 is a game-changer. He said grants to nonprofits have fallen because the cigarette tax brings in less revenue.

“We can increase these (funding) numbers again to a certain extent,” he said. “This is because voters recognized and believed in the power of art and culture. This was an overwhelming vote of confidence in the power of arts and culture and how important they are to the lives of residents.”

The tax, which goes into effect on February 1, 2025, is up to 3 1/2 cents per cigarette or 70 cents per pack of cigarettes. Cuyahoga voters first passed a tax on cigarettes in 2006 to provide continued funding for arts and culture. Since then, the tax has raised $260 million, about 95% of which has been used for grants, according to CAC.

The new tax replaces a tax that currently collects about 30 cents per pack of cigarettes.

“Prior to 2006, Cuyahoga County did not have a dedicated public funding source for arts and culture,” Issue 55 spokesman Jeff Rusnak, president and CEO of R Strategy Group, said before Election Day. “We were at the bottom of the country in terms of public investment in arts and culture. And now we are among the best.”

He said steady funding for arts and culture is good for the local economy. He said these benefits include job creation by strengthening arts and cultural institutions and promoting local tourism.

“When you ask people why they keep coming to Cleveland, one of the main reasons is our strong arts and culture scene here,” Rusnak said.

He said a strong arts community also has other benefits, including increasing students' academic achievement, which several studies show is possible. The tax funds arts and cultural offerings for people who would not normally participate because of cost or lack of experience with programs, many of which do not have access. Rusnak said nearly half of the CAC-funded programs have been free.

A strong arts community is also a quality of life issue, he said.

“Over the years, 485 different organizations have received grants,” Rusnak said. “That's why you have young people who go to the Music Settlement or the Children's Museum or attend a play or an after-school program at the Cleveland Public Theater. You have the opportunity to attend a concert at Severance Hall or a performance at Playhouse Square. You really see how this impacts people and how this investment really pays off for people.”

In the first few years after its passage, the cigarette tax brought in $20 million a year, but in the end it brought in only half that much, Rusak said. He said $16 million a year was “still a significant investment.” He wouldn't say whether CAC was looking for ways to offset the financial loss due to lower cigarette sales.

“It would be premature at this point to talk about finding an additional source of funding,” Rusnak said.