Parrish Art Museum To Host Separate Vote On Tax Levy

A public hearing will be held at the Parrish Art Museum next week regarding a proposed tax levy on Southampton School District residents that will support the museum during the 2014-15 school year.According to Scott Howe, the deputy director of the Parrish, the tax is an annual levy on school district taxpayers. This year, however, the museum chose to hold a separate budget vote at the new Water Mill facility, rather than having it included as a referendum with the annual school budget vote in May. The idea, he said, is to allow voters to actually see what the Parrish has to offer with the money. In a letter sent to residents from the Southampton School District, the Parrish said it will ask for a $326,509 levy from residents, a zero-percent increase over last year. An information meeting will be held at the Parrish Art Museum on Wednesday, March 19, at 7 p.m. to discuss the proposed budget. The vote on the levy is scheduled for April 9, with eligible taxpayers casting their vote at the museum. “We decided that in our new building we have a great venue, and we want for voters to experience the Parrish and be a part of it,” Mr. Howe said, “to really connect with issue of the vote to the museum and its programs. Moving into our new facility in Water Mill, we thought this was an opportunity to make that possible.”The tax levy is only applicable to residents of the Southampton School District.According to Mr. Howe, the money generated will be used to create and maintain programs at the museum that local residents benefit from. He said the Parrish Art Museum has a total operating budget of $4.9 million, much of that raised from donations and fundraisers, and that the proposed tax levy has not increased over the past five years.Each year, Mr. Howe said, the Parrish puts on a variety of shows that will benefit from the levy, including five art exhibits showcasing five artists from across the country, a sixth exhibit focusing on the work of school students, an after-school art program and an after-school outreach program. The museum also provides 300 tours and workshops throughout the year. The money will also help support several partnerships with the Southampton School District, including the Parrish Art Club at the high school and an art history program for fifth and sixth graders. “Just as in the past, the money goes toward our mission-related programs,” Mr. Howe said. “It goes toward the exhibits we bring, the programs brought by our education program for schools and adults.”This week, Dr. Scott Farina, superintendent of the Southampton School District, said the district was not a part of the decision to remove the vote from the annual school vote, but that it hopes to continue a positive relationship with the Parrish Art Museum moving forward.“Certainly, it has been a beneficial relationship in the past,” Dr. Farina said. “We would expect it would continue in the future.” The vote is scheduled for Wednesday, April 9, also at the museum, with polls open from noon to 8 p.m. More information about the vote, and about museum services, is available online at Parrishart.org.