VISION FOR INVESTMENT IN THE CULTURAL ECONOMY AND CULTURE-BEARERS OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS I. Introduction and Overview In 2019, the Legislature passed a suite of bills to infuse money into gray and human infrastructure in the City of New Orleans. This collection of bills, known as the Fair Share deal, facilitated the merger of the functions of the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation (NOTMC) and New Orleans and Company (NOCO) under the latter. With NOCO now performing leisure travel marketing functions once performed by NOTMC, the size of NOTMC’s board of directors must shrink and its purpose must be amended. Given that the NOTMC board of directors will vote on core amendments to the Articles of Incorporation and By-laws on January 17, 2020, this memo seeks to offer a picture of the Cantrell Administration’s vision for the cultural economy of the City of New Orleans and to explain how restructuring NOTMC fits into that larger plan. II. Vision for Using City Assets for Investment in Cultural Economy Culture and culture-bearers are the heart of the City’s tourism economy, and as tourism has continued to grow, many have not felt the benefits of that growth. Simultaneously, there is no large, predictable dedicated revenue stream to support cultural organizations like museums, opera or ballet. Presently, those entities depend on Wisner grant dollars, which cannot fully meet the need or allow those entities to make larger investments. The City wants to develop revenue that can be invested in the people and cultural institutions that make us unique and marketable on a global scale. NOCO is responsible for marketing the City of New Orleans, and the City of New Orleans must be responsible for investing in the culture and culture-bearers that NOCO markets. Two clear opportunities exist to drive revenue for the City’s cultural economy. First, through the French Market Corporation (FMC), the City owns assets in and around the French Quarter, and the majority of those assets could be developed to drive more revenue. To that end, the administration is in the process of doing the following to either save costs or drive revenue that can be invested in cultural producers: ● ● ● ● Revamping FMC vendor rules and regulations Mapping and evaluating all assets for their highest and best use Assessing immediate redevelopment opportunities Resolve duplicative security patrol challenges Second, the occupancy tax revenue that goes to NOTMC will create a fund -- the New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Fund -- to directly invest in a platform that allows cultural producers to expand and showcase their enterprises to local, national, and international markets; to secure collaborations that execute training and workforce pathways to higher earning potential (example of film industry training pathways); and to continue to make investments in festivals and other cultural events that rely on the support. As the occupancy tax grows through more hotel beds coming online and as FMC assets drive more profit, this approach will create a sustained long-term source of revenue for investment in our cultural economy. Since it is the City’s responsibility to invest in culture-bearers, the Office of Cultural Economy will be involved in the aforementioned transitions in the FMC and NOTMC. The mission of the Office of Cultural Economy is “to stimulate economic activity and growth through our local cultural communities by creating opportunities for arts and creative producers to thrive​.​” F ​ MC’s assets and the occupancy tax that presently goes to NOTMC can be leveraged through the Office of Cultural Economy to scale that mission without the creation of duplicative administrative services or costs. III. Cultural Commission - Citywide Policy and Rulemaking Although revenue from the occupancy tax and FMC assets will fund investment in our city’s cultural economy, policy and rulemaking with respect to cultural producers will require the creation of a commission via ordinance. The Creative Industries subcommittee of the Mayor’s Transition Team recommended creating an Advisory Commission to serve as a clearinghouse for rules and legislation that affect culture-bearers and institutions. This same body could also be imbued with the authority to hear disputes that cultural producers may have with the City and to make recommendations for Council or Mayoral action with respect to larger critical issues. In the coming year, the administration would love to work with members of the Council to create this Advisory Commission and to determine the scope of its powers. IV. What does this mean for NOTMC? The amendments to NOTMC’s Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws are meant to restructure the organization to accomplish the aforementioned vision. Here is a summary of the changes to each: ● Amendments of the Articles of Incorporation of the Company: ○ change the name of the Corporation from New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation to New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Fund; ○ to amend the purposes of powers of the Company to include support for the cultural economy and culture-bearers of the City of New Orleans and to eliminate the promotion of the City to the discretionary tourist or traveler; ○ establish one class of Members of the Company and delete the concept of Associate Membership; ● V. ○ reduce the number of people comprising the Board of Directors of the Company from 15 people to seven people; ○ provide that the Directors of the Company shall be (a) Two members of the City Council chosen annually by the Council; (b) 5 culture-bearers or individuals with expertise in the cultural-economy of the City of New Orleans appointed by the Mayor; ○ appointees of the Mayor shall serve a one year term; ○ restoring votes necessary to amend the Articles of Incorporation from three-fifths back to two-thirds; ○ provide for a single vice chair of the Board of Directors; and ○ requiring the Company submit an annual plan to support culture-bearers and the City’s cultural economy to the City Council to follow form with change of organization’s purpose. Amendments to Bylaws ○ change the name of the Company as described above; ○ provide for a single vice chair of the Board of Directors; ○ eliminate the Expenditure Formula and references to the Expenditure Formula; and ○ alter requirement to amend by-laws from a vote of 10 to a two-thirds vote to follow form with reduction in board composition. Oversight and Council Authority These amendments to the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws do not obscure the Council’s oversight over the Corporation. ● Open Meetings Laws​: This entity will be subject to Louisiana’s Open Meeting Laws. Article 12 of the Articles of Incorporation addresses this matter and has not been amended. ● Annual Report​: This entity will be required to file an annual report to the City Council by March 1st of each year which will include a report of the activities of the Corporation for the preceding year, including a complete financial statement which sets forth the corporate assets, liabilities, receipts, and disbursements as of the end of such calendar year. Article 13 of the Articles of Incorporation addresses this matter and has not been amended. ● Economic Development Plan​: This entity will have to present an economic development plan to the City Council which shall set forth an overall policy and plan of action to accomplish the mission of supporting the cultural economy and culture-bearers of the City of New Orleans. This plan must be approved by the Council annually for recertification or approval. ● Increased voting power​: The Council had 3 out of 15 seats on NOTMC’s board or a 20% share of the overall vote. It would now have 2 out of 7 seats or a 29% share of the overall vote.