What is this Service?

Culture Services is the municipal investment in local artists, culture and heritage organizations. Culture Services enriches quality of life, generates considerable benefits and greatly contributes to a community’s ability to build wealth through innovation and creativity. Culture Services are provided to residents by creating and encouraging opportunities for the creative sector, such as local artists.

Specific objectives include:

• Display local culture
• Promote interest in cultural festivals and events
• Encourage development of the culture sector in each municipality
• Fund and support non-profit cultural organizations to provide arts and heritage programs across the community
• Promote and display local heritage through our museums and heritage initiatives

Influencing Factors:

• In-Kind Services:   Municipalities may not have reported the value of in-kind services and/or may not be able to quantify these services.
• Municipal Policy:  Whether a municipality has adopted a cultural policy or plan, i.e. public art, special events, etc. and how the municipality has defined its roles and responsibilities, may affect the way programs and services are delivered and the size of funding invested in the community.
• Non-Resident Use (Tourism):  Cultural services attract participants from beyond a municipality’s boundaries, and may serve as a key factor in tourists’ decisions about whether to visit a particular community – a “per capita” denominator may overstate the cost of the services