Arts Donation Program Gets a Lift

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to rejuvenate the county’s languishing voluntary contributions to the arts program. Under the program, property owners may contribute money directly to the arts at the time they pay their annual property taxes.

Donations to the arts under the project have diminished from $25,000, since it began in 1981, to $12,000 last year, a county official said.

“No one was really overseeing the program,” said Carol Hobson, the county’s Public Arts Advisory Council executive director.

Tuesday’s action moved administration of the project from the Tax Collector’s office to the arts council. Hobson said she expects the county will mount a public awareness campaign next fiscal year that encourages people with an interest in the arts a chance to contribute to their favorite projects.