Nevada museums cut hours this week

CARSON CITY -- Faced with a one-third cut in his budget, Department of Cultural Affairs Director Michael Fischer did what any realistic business manager would do: He cut hours of museums and libraries, laid off some employees and reduced the work week of many others to 32 hours.

"I feel horrible for the people working in the museums," said Fischer, who quit a lucrative dental business to head a state agency because of his love of history. "There just wasn't enough money. If there had been $2.5 million more, we wouldn't have had to lay off anybody or reduce hours."

The Legislature increased taxes by $1 billion during the 2009 session, but not enough to keep museums and libraries from cutting hours.

An emotional state Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, even mentioned during one hearing how important libraries are to his younger constituents.

Legislators did restore some funding to the agency. Gov. Jim Gibbons had proposed a 40 percent cut in Cultural Affairs spending in his budget in January.

Horsford said Tuesday that legislators talked with the agency's administrators and determined what funding would be necessary to keep museums and libraries open at least some of the time.

"It was difficult," Horsford said. "All agencies had cuts. We tried to preserve essential services like education. We cut spending by about $1 billion. There simply was not enough to preserve all services for museums, libraries and archives."

Additional funds could be appropriated in September that might allow museums to open on additional days.

During a Thursday meeting of the Interim Finance Committee, state Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, proposed giving $1.1 million in secretary of state reserve funds to the Department of Cultural Affairs.

"This department was cut more severely than others," he said. "I think it is important we address this deficiency."

But Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, said there are other agencies that could use the money, and Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, suggested looking at whether some federal stimulus funds might be used by the department.

"We all struggled with the cuts to Cultural Affairs," she said.

The Interim Finance Committee will discuss ways to augment the department's funds in its next meeting in September.

Starting Wednesday, most state museums will be open four days a week, not the normal seven days.

The Nevada State Museum in Lorenzi Park will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, while the Lost City Museum in Overton will be open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.

The state Railroad Museum in Boulder City won't be cutting days, since it is open only on Saturday and Sunday for 7-mile train rides.

The state Museum in Carson City will be open Wednesday through Saturday. The state Library and Archives in Carson City still will be open every weekday, but its hours will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Nevada Historical Society in Reno will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

When the Legislature adjourned in 2007, it set funding for the Department of Cultural Affairs at $31.7 million. When it adjourned this past June 2, funding for the agency was placed at $21.3 million.

Two years ago, the agency's staff was 187 people. Now it will be 142, with 51 of them working 32-hour weeks and earning 20 percent less. Twelve people were laid off.

Still, during a news conference on June 9, Gibbons said he did not believe anyone in state government had been laid off.

He only has to walk a few feet past his parking lot behind the state Capitol into the State Library and Archives to see the effects of budget cuts.

Shelves of books in what had been a Nevada section have been moved closer to the main bookshelves so remaining employees will have an easier time reshelving returned books.

The periodical shelves have many empty spaces for newspapers and magazines that state government cannot afford to buy.

"It's temporary," said Daniel Burns, Gibbons' communications director. "When things turn around, it will be restored."

Burns said Gibbons had very difficult decisions to make at a time when state tax revenues are declining.

Cutting the Cultural Affairs budget was one of those, Burns said.

Peter Barton, administrator of the Division of Museums and History, predicted people will be angry once they drive to a museum for a visit and find it closed.

"We are taking from the public their own asset," Barton said. "Our collections belong to Nevadans."

He expects to lose additional employees because they cannot make ends meets on pay that is 80 percent of what they previously earned. Three employees already have found jobs with the federal and local governments.

Another victim of the cuts is the just finished $47 million state museum at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve.

Legislators found $5 million to complete the exhibits needed before it can open to the public, but they rejected funding the staff needed to actually open the place.

That museum could be ready to open to the public in October 2010, but will remain locked until the Legislature in 2011 funds its staff.

"This will be a wonderful community resource," said David Millman, director of the museum in Lorenzi Park. "When we open it depends on when we have staff."

Barton said by state law museum admission is free to children under age 18. Adult admission is $4 to $6, depending on the museum.

"Where else can a family of four go for an afternoon and spend less than $15 and learn something of their history? Fischer asked.

Attendance is down 15 percent so far this year, according to Barton, but June attendance is up slightly. He expects more people will choose museums since they will be looking for places close to home to visit during the recession.

"We took the resources we had and applied them in a manner so that the most people have an opportunity to visit our museums," Barton said.

"The museums are open on the peak visitation days. Almost everyone who visits a museum goes away with a positive outcome. It is a lot of fun."

Contact reporter Ed Vogel at evogel @reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.