State spending flying under the radar

SANTA FE (KRQE) - The difficult economy has resulted in state budget cuts at multiple levels over the last several years, but KRQE News 13 has discovered an area of state spending that appears to be flying under the radar.

The size of the state’s collection of publicly-funded art pieces continues to grow, even in tough economic times.

“We’re concerned about this kind of spending on what are undoubtedly luxuries,” said Paul Gessing, president of the Rio Grande Foundation, a conservative watchdog group.

State spending on public art is protected by state law. Passed in 1986, the Art in Public Places Act states that 1 percent of every dollar spent on capital improvement projects goes to purchase public art.

Since the law went into effect, state dollars have paid for the purchases of about 3,000 art pieces.

“It’s the law…You don’t have the discretion to spend it however you like,” said Veronica Gonzales, secretary of the state’s Cultural Affairs Department – the department doing the buying.

Invoices obtained by KRQE News 13 show the spending continued, even as state lawmakers struggled to address a budget shortfall estimated at more than $400 million during the 2011 legislative session.

Among the purchases made while lawmakers debated ways to save money, $20,500 went to an unnamed stainless-steel sculpture; $20,500 went to another sculpture called “Brick Face Hope” for the State Land Office; $16,000 went to a sculpture called “Fish Hook”; $8,800 went for a sculpture of two dogs; $8,400 paid for another sculpture called “Tribal Rug Series.”

Just days after the 2011 legislative session ended, the state paid $50,000 for a collection of 28 photographs called The Value of a Dollar.

According to Secretary Gonzales, art is an important part of the state’s economy, a $3.3 billion industry for New Mexico.

Of that, more than $1 billion comes from arts-related tourism, Gonzales said.

“New Mexico has become known as a mecca, very rich in talent and art,” Gonzales said.

Invoices confirm even more high-dollar items were purchased this year.

The purchases include $26,500 for a painting called “Clear Space” for Eastern New Mexico University; $22,000 for cotton-fiber artwork called “Weft Aspect #5” for the Los Lunas Center for Recovery; $35,000 paid for a sculpture called “Trace” for the front of the state Department of Public Safety headquarters in Santa Fe.

According to the governor’s office and top state lawmakers, arts funding has not entered the discussion when it comes to budget cuts.

Senator John Arthur Smith, chairman of the Legislative Finance Committee, said cuts to arts funding probably wouldn’t make very much of a dent when it comes to the state’s overall budget concerns.

The amount of money dedicated to arts funding has actually dropped over the last four fiscal years by about $800,000, because of a decrease in capital improvement spending.

Still, more than $2.4 million went to public art during those same four fiscal years, all from the 1 percent for public art law.

“It cannot be spent on general fund operations or other things that the state might deem a priority,” Gonzales said.

Paul Gessing has other ideas for the money.

“If you want to promote art, you should allocate space and make it available for up-and-coming artists to display their wares, and perhaps even sell them,” Gessing said. “They’re accoutrements, bobbles, that really are not something that are the central focus of government.”

The state Cultural Affairs Department, like other state departments, has experienced general fund budget cuts, about $8 million over the last four fiscal years.

The money would have paid for mostly operational costs.

It would not have paid for the purchase of artwork.