Make your voice (not just your instrument) heard!
One of the benefits of being a member of the DMS is to lobby for live music.
Here is an excellent opportunity for you to help connect local communities with live music:
Next week, on Tuesday, August 10, the City of Dunedin Commissioners will consider recommendations by a Board of Finance Subcommittee regarding aid to local organizations.
Originally, the DMS applied for $35,000 to replace income discontinued by the Parks & Recreation Department as well as help launch three new programs to accommodate growing needs in our area (two adult beginner groups and a homeschool ensemble). The subcommittee is recommending a donation of $5,000.
Whether or not you are a resident of Dunedin, you are a valued member of a Dunedin organization. It would be good for you to show the City Commissioners how important all live music – not just bagpipes – is to the health and emotional well-being of the City. Here are three ways you can do just that:
July’s City of Dunedin Budget Workshop #2
1. Write individually to each of the City Commissioners (below) and the City Manager Jennifer Bramley this week sharing your support of the DMS, how valuable it is to our community and the reputation of Dunedin, how you benefit from DMS activities, and that they should consider increasing the recommended aid closer towards the full amount requested. Mayor Julie Bujalski, Maureen Freaney (thank her for often attending DCB concerts), Jeff Gow, Deborah Kynes, and John Tornga
2. Write to the Finance Director, Les Tyler this week, thanking him and the Finance subcommittee for including the DMS in its recommendations for aid, but perhaps share your disappointment that the amount being recommended falls severely short of what is needed to move the DMS forward and provide the services desperately needed for a healthy and diverse cultural community.
3. Attend the Budget Workshop! Arrive at City Hall no later than 12:45pm on Tuesday, August 10, and be ready to cheer and applaud when the DMS is called to make its presentation (and afterwards, too, but it’s important for Commissioners to see the support in the room beforehand).
This is good lobbying at its best: without you stepping up to let the City Commissioners know about what the DMS means to you, they will never know the vital impact we have in the lives of their constituents and neighbors.
THANK YOU!
