Jasper Arts faces budget reduction in 2027

Jasper–Jasper Arts is heading into 2027 with a tighter budget than originally sought, though Director Kyle Rupert says the organization is well positioned to adapt and has plenty of momentum heading into a promising performance season.

Before getting into the budget discussion at Tuesday’s regular Jasper Community Arts Commission meeting, Rupert reported on the department’s attendance numbers. Through August, the department has counted more than 31,000 participants across both facilities, including all activities, rentals and performances. The gallery alone welcomed 862 visitors in August, bringing the year-to-date gallery visit total to 5,384. Rupert noted the department is currently on pace for its third best season in department history.

“The last two years were pretty nuts,” he said, “so it’s going to be hard to catch those.”

On the performance side, Scotty McCreery is sold out, as is Gadan, the department’s first backstage show of the season. Rupert encouraged anyone still hoping to attend Gadan to come out on the night of the show, noting that backstage shows historically see lower attendance rates than ticket sales suggest.

“If anybody’s like, ‘Oh, I wanted to see that,’ I would encourage them to come out because we typically have a lower attendance rate for those shows,” he said.

Joshua and Casey is 63% sold, and Rupert said the season as a whole is shaping up well despite cancellations that have impacted numbers. Those included a Care Bear-themed show and the performance from Mandy Patinkin, who had a scheduling conflict due to an Amazon Prime series filming schedule.

Rupert stated that Care Bears was canceled early in the selling process, limiting the number of patrons requiring refunds. The department is still evaluating replacement options. They attempted to fill the slot vacated by Patinkin but were unable to do so.

Regarding 2027 funding, the city’s approved budget plan includes approximately $1.036 million for the department, down from the $1.083 million he had originally submitted for consideration. The original request represented an increase of less than 1% over the current 2026 budget.

The approved budget includes a 4% across-the-board wage increase for employees but does not include the targeted salary adjustments Rupert had been seeking for specific staff members. The budget also reduces budgeted part-time hours, though Rupert said that change should have little impact on day-to-day operations.

“Those are hours that have been budgeted for years and haven’t been used,” he said, “so there is room there to scale that back.”

The bigger change, Rupert said, comes in contractual services, where much of the department’s programming funding comes from.

“It is likely that in some areas we’re going to need to adjust the programming and what that looks like — possibly scale back in some areas,” he said. “But we’re still evaluating what that’s going to look like.”

Rupert was careful to frame the reductions in a broader context, noting that every city department was asked to examine its operations and make adjustments.

“This reduction in no way is a reflection of a lack of support for the department,” he said. “The city is in a position where it’s got to make some changes, and we’re fortunate enough to be in a department where we’re able to be adaptive.”

He noted the organization’s long track record of navigating financial ups and downs.

“We’ve been there for 51 years now, and we’ve been through higher ends of things and lower ends of things, and figure out a way to continue to do it,” Rupert said.

While some programming adjustments may be necessary, Rupert said nothing drastic is planned, like reducing the number of shows planned.

“We may not have a bounce house at Chalk Walk, or we may not do this thing or that thing — but nothing dramatic,” he said.

He added that those ideas hadn’t been officially discussed yet.

The budget is expected to receive final approval in mid-October.

Commission members also raised questions about increasing rental revenue at the facilities. Commission member Jasmine Bosler suggested the organization look at offering discounted rates on open weekends to attract more weddings and events.

Rupert said the organization has seen increased interest in the space in recent months. With the space being shared with the Jasper Public Library, he said they are looking into availability data to better understand rental capacity. He noted, however, that current city guidance indicates rental rates cannot be discounted.

“The rate is the rate,” he said, “but I think it’s worth looking into absolutely, and we will definitely come back with a plan.”

Commissioner Beth Seidl raised awareness concerns, noting that some Jasper residents are still unaware of the facilities and what they offer.

“I was totally shocked by people who live in town who said, ‘Where is it?'” Seidl said.

Rupert said awareness and outreach may also be addressed as part of the department’s ongoing strategic planning process.