Supporters fight for balloon museum

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Mayor Richard Berry has threatened to close the Balloon Museum as a cost cutting measure.

While union leaders insist it should go before city workers are forced to take a pay cut, balloon backers hope to keep the hot air in the museum.

Vocal supporters of the 4-year-old museum said deep budget cuts will deflate its value and drag the ballooning reputation of Albuquerque down with it.

In light of a $66 million budget shortfall, however, Berry is giving those supporters a basket full of reality.

"We're going to have to ask them to do more with less this coming year," Berry said.

City funding to maintain the $13 million museum has shrunk over the past four years. In 2006, the museum was given $2 million. Last year it received $933,000.

The mayor's latest proposal cuts its budget down to $767,000.

"We will be able to keep the museum open for at least one more year," ABQ Director of Cultural Affairs Berry Rivera said.

Despite steadily growing attendance and an expected 70,000 patrons next year, it's still not enough to pay the bills.

The museum, under such a proposal, will be down to just seven full time staff members.

The mayor hasn't ruled out deeper cuts.

Labor union leaders have suggested closing down the museum 11 months out of the year and keeping it open only during the annual Balloon Fiesta.

"People have said it should be closed. It should not be closed. It's a beautiful asset of our city," Rivera said.

It's an asset that supporters argue gives the Duke City an identity.

"What the museum does is present a 12 month year presence in this community," Richard Abruzzo said.

Friday night, Rivera asked city councilors to form a task force to see if there's a way too help the museum succeed in the years ahead.