Today, the San José City Council will be considering Mayor Mahan's March Budget Message, which includes directions to the City Manager for how to structure the City's budget for the coming fiscal year beginning in July. We just sent a letter to the City Council letting them know where we stand!

As avid readers of our newsletter know, the San José City Council is holding a study session on Arts, Destination Marketing, and Destination Events tomorrow, February 16, beginning at 9:00am. In advance of this special meeting more than a year in the making, SJAA’s Core Team has been educating the Mayor, Councilmembers, and their staffs about...

This week, ballots were mailed to all California voters for the March 5 Primary Election. In San José, the mayor and five council seats (in even-numbered districts) are up for election, and there are competitive races for two Santa Clara County supervisor seats. This is our chance to have an impact on who makes the...

The City budget process for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 more or less wrapped up on June 13, when the Council approved the Mayor’s June Budget Message — with a few modifications. While the debate mostly centered around housing issues, there were some big wins for the creative community, as well as a few disappointments. Here’s a quick breakdown for arts advocates.

The Mayor has released his June Budget Message, and the time has come for final City Council deliberations on how the City will spend its money in the year ahead. But first, they want to hear from you. So we're asking you to READ UP, SPEAK UP, and SHOW UP for the creative industry.

The next phase in the city budget process is underway, and it’s time for us to show up and speak up for the arts!

With six brand new City Councilmembers and a fresh face in the Mayor’s chair, it’s time for us to come together and refocus our advocacy as they begin to set a path forward. We can’t wait to get started with you!

Learn about SJAA, our advocacy priorities, and how you can be a part of making San José a more creative city!

The City Manager’s latest draft budget for FY2021-2022 earmarks $2 million in American Rescue Plan funds to support arts and cultural programs that have been devastated COVID-19. And now, the Mayor has proposed using additional one-time relief funds to backfill shortfalls in the Transient Occupancy Tax (aka TOT or Hotel Tax). While we thank the...

This week, the City Manager released a budget proposal calling for $2 million in American Rescue Plan funds to support arts and cultural programs that have been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic.