“If you build it, they will come. But if you make it free, they may well come in droves.” The Detroit Free Press reports on the Detroit Institute of Arts surge in attendance following a property tax approval and instatement of free admission. “The promise of free admission was one of the major perks that the cash-strapped DIA had dangled in front of voters to help build support for a 10-year property tax millage that will cost homeowners about $20 a year on a home with a market value of $200,000 and taxable value of $100,000. The tax is expected to funnel $23 million annually into DIA operations for the next 10 years.”

“Museum leaders had argued that without a reliable source of operating income, the DIA would have been forced to dramatically cut exhibitions and programs and that it would be at risk of closing. Now that the debilitating annual operation gaps in the budget will be filled by tax revenue, the DIA can turn its attention to building its modest $100-million endowment.”

SOURCE: Mark Stryker, “Attendance More Than Triples at DIA After Millage,” Detroit Free Press (August 15, 2012). Continue reading at link below: