The Cayuga County Ways and Means Committee voted to reinstate funding for the Cayuga Museum of History and Art at a special meeting on Tuesday.

The committee allowed Eileen McHugh, executive director of the museum, as well as representatives from other county organizations to make a case for why funding should be reinstated. Cayuga County Arts Council will also receive its funding back, as well as Willard Chapel and the Cornell Cooperative Extension.

The vote made it possible for these items to be re-added to the tentative budget and the full Legislature will need to vote to accept the changes or make further amendments to them.

“I certainly support funding those organizations but I think some of the other organizations we did cut 10 percent and again, this is still subject to a vote of the entire Legislature so, I think there may be some motion to reduce that funding by 10 percent,” said Chairman of the Legislature Roger Mills. “I don't think there's any question they're going to get funded, I certainly support funding for these organizations. I think it was a little extreme to cut it 100 percent.”

Most of the organizations had their funding restored to the 2008 level.

If the Legislature approves the changes, Cayuga Museum will receive $13,000 in 2009, Cayuga County Arts Council will receive $4,000 and the Willard Chapel will get $3,500.

Cornell Cooperative Extension will receive $273,245, which is a decrease of $6,255 from what it's receiving now but an increase of $23,245 more than County Manager Wayne Allen proposed in the tentative 2009 budget.

McHugh said she is “tremendously pleased” that the Legislature voted to reinstate the $13,000 to Cayuga Museum.

“I know the chairman of Ways and Means was against it but there were other county legislators on that committee who believe in the importance of the museum and voted to reinstate the full amount that we got last year,” she said.

McHugh understands that the full Legislature will have final approval and the possibility of losing 10 percent of the $13,000.

“Of course I would prefer the full amount. I believe that what the county gives the museum is an investment to what we bring back to the county, both economically and culturally,” she said. “We'll see what the county Legislature decides.”

There was a motion to reduce the museum's funding by 10 percent at Tuesday's meeting but it was defeated, McHugh said.

Legislator Patrick Mahunik, D-Auburn, believes that restoring the funding to county arts organizations is important and will affect economic development as well. Mahunik, who is not on the Ways and Means Committee, attended Tuesday's meeting.

“I think it's extremely important, I was glad that it was restored. When we're talking the amount of money that the county is spending, (it's) a small price to pay for the cultural level that it brings to us,” he said. “We can do all the economic development in the world, if we don't have stuff like that museum or the council of the arts, if we don't have those organizations in place, then our economic development is going to fail.”

Staff writer Gitana Mirochnik can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or gitana.mirochnik@lee.net