Dive Brief:

• Helena, MT, is considering charging commercial developers an additional construction fee on each project to be used to fund public art.

• The City Commission has asked its attorney to weigh in on whether it has the authority to assess the fee on construction or alteration of nonresidential buildings of at least 20,000 square feet.

• A tight city budget has diluted the government from financing public arts projects. One commission member noted: “If we had the money, we would have already been funding it.”

Dive Insight:

Developers with projects large enough to incur a fee topping $25,000 would have the option to have public artwork placed on the site instead of paying. The art would have to be visible from the street or sidewalk, or be placed in an open area of a development that is accessible to the public.

Commission members have not agreed on whether 1% is the right amount for the fee, or whether it would apply to buildings of only a certain size.

One member estimated that a 1% fee on commercial construction could reap $670,000 for the city over two years.