ACME reports $24M-plus in awards, dozens of appeals; staff to convene working group and post final lists

Laura Odegard, acting division manager of Austin’s Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment department (ACME), told the commission the department announced 731 awards totaling just over $24,000,000 after receiving 1,606 applications across programs. "We had 1,606 applications submitted across all programs," Odegard said, and requests exceeded $67,000,000.

Odegard provided the program breakdown: 399 awards under the Austin Live Music Fund (about $7,000,000), 288 Elevate awards (about $12.8 million), 22 Creative Space Assistance Program awards (about $1.3 million), and heritage preservation awards. Erica Shamali, division manager for Music & Entertainment, said FY24 closeouts are proceeding: "Out of the 136 awardees, 115 second payments have been made so far, which is 85%."

Odegard described a formal appeals process with a strict March 30 deadline. Staff received 48 Elevate appeals, 27 Austin Live Music Fund appeals, seven CSAP appeals and one heritage preservation appeal. She said staff will screen appeals for eligibility (panel administration error, conflict of interest, or reviewer/staff error) and forward eligible cases to an appeals working group. "If they have merit to them... then it goes to the appeals working group," Odegard said; that group is expected to meet the week of April 13 and move recommendations to the Arts Commission meeting on April 20.

Commissioners raised follow-up needs about duplicate offers and public communications. Odegard said all applicants must accept or decline awards and that staff will publish an updated, final list of awardees after appeals and acceptance windows close. She said staff will post the full score reports and panel comments for applicants and provide a district-level award breakdown on the department website.

Odegard also noted a separate Nexus program intended for individual artists (nonprofit organizations are not eligible) and said ACME has workshops and office hours available for applicants.

Next steps: staff will finish appeal screening, report eligible cases to the appeals working group, update the public award list after final acceptances, and present recommendations at the Arts Commission April 20.