Budget cuts to reduce Huntington concerts

Organizers of the Huntington Summer Arts Festival say the number of free concerts would be reduced from 44 to about a dozen under the town supervisor's 2012 budget proposal.

Diana Cherryholmes, executive director of the Huntington Arts Council, a nonprofit that has held the festival for the last 46 years, said cuts totaling about $110,000 would be "devastating" for the annual event, which currently features 44 free concerts per season. This summer, 50,000 people attended the concerts, she said.

"I know this is not a personal affront to the arts, but it's significant," Cherryholmes said. "We understand this is driven by the economy, not by anything else. But we just would like to encourage them to restore our funding, because this is critical."

The concerts were cut from 56 per season to 44 in the 2009 budget, Cherryholmes said.

She said the town's contribution represents about 30 percent of her organization's total budget. In addition to a cut of about 56 percent in festival funding, Town Supervisor Frank Petrone's budget includes a $25,000 cut in the $150,000 the town gave last year for the council's operating budget.

Town spokesman A.J. Carter said Petrone faced difficult budgetary decisions, especially as all towns face a 2 percent tax cap, and that the Huntington Arts Council was not singled out for cuts.

Other groups, such as historical museums, also face cuts in the proposed budget.

"These cuts weren't designed to knock anybody out of business, but to spread out the pain," Carter said.

The town plans to put the nonprofit in touch with the marketing firm the town uses in order to look for private sponsorships for the festival, he said.