UPDATE on MPBN State Funding Issue
Dear Supporters of MPBN:
On April 5, the Maine Legislature’s Joint Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee voted unanimously to restore the funding for the Maine Public Broadcasting Network for Fiscal Year 2013. The committee agreed to an appropriation of $1.7 million starting on July 1, 2012, as part of a supplemental budget package for the current biennial budget. The Maine House and Senate then voted to approve the budget package on April 12th.
MPBN is appreciative of the hard work by the entire Committee and for the support of members of the Legislature in recognizing the value of the state-wide public broadcasting organization. President and CEO Mark Vogelzang thanked the legislature for reinstating MPBN's appropriation and for their support of MPBN, “We had strong bi-partisan agreement that our services were important to the citizens of Maine, and we know that this was a challenging year financially. I appreciate the ways in which individual legislators worked with MPBN to come to an agreement on this vote.”
MPBN's State appropriation of $1.7 million for FY13 is already a reduction of 13.5% or over $250,000 from the FY 12 amount of $1.954 million. The true cost of radio and television transmission is $2.5 million. By statute, through its appropriation, the State of Maine has financially supported the cost of statewide transmission since 1992. MPBN’s current year budget is just over $11.2 million.
Maine Public Broadcasting Network Fact Sheet
LD 1903
| Fiscal 2012 Appropriation: |
|
$1,954,235 |
| |
|
|
| Reduction due to lack of Federal funds from MEMA: |
$200,000 |
|
| Reduction from work of the Streamlining Task Force: |
46,526 |
|
| Reduction included in “phase 1” DHS Bill – 1%: |
17,077 |
|
|
Total reduction in Appropriation – 13.5%:
|
|
(263,603) |
| |
|
|
| Current Fiscal 2013 Appropriation: |
|
$1,690,632 |
| |
|
|