A controversial public art plan has resurfaced as one Wagga councillor has vowed to go against the public’s will and fight to place a cap on art spending.
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According to Wagga City Council, a petition of 546 signatures were received requesting the reinstatement of the original 1 per cent public art levy proposal.
Councillor Paul Funnell said he would again back the $50,000 cap at Monday night’s council meeting, despite just three out of 37 submissions supporting his view against public art funding.
“That’s all well and good and I respect the democratic process but if I go and campaign on this issue the amount of people who want this cap runs into the thousands,” he said.
Cr Funnell said the submissions reflected just a portion of residents.
“When someone is interested in an issue they will take notice of it, people will jump up and scream,” he said.
“There is a silent majority that thought the cap had already been done because that is what we agreed on – at the end of the day we are the decision makers.”
Councillor Vanessa Keenan said she hoped fellow councillors would be willing to reconsider the original levy and was disappointed that the plan had previously failed to reflect public opinion.
“It is clear what the community is saying and everyone has had ample opportunities to provide their input, she said.
“A number of projects around the community wouldn't occur if the cap was in place.”
Cr Funnell has called for residents to participate.
“If I lose this and people are critical of the outcome my first question will be why didn’t they engage,” he said.
“We have so many issues to deal with, when the pie is sliced correctly I’ll stop protesting this.”
Cr Keenan said she feared if public submissions were ignored it could have a larger impact on the city.
“We are trying to engage the community and if their experience is that their voice isn’t being heard, understandably they could become resistant,” she said.