Georgetown Mayor issues statement regarding funding cuts for Kaminski House Museum

On Friday, June 5, the City of Georgetown provided this statement from Mayor Jay Doyle on the proposed $50,000 budget cut in funding for the Friends of the Kaminski House as part of the FY 2026-27 municipal budget:

“Recently, the Kaminski House Museum has been in the spotlight due to a proposed budget cut. The current City of Georgetown 2026-2027 budget proposes a reduction of $50,000 from the annual support provided to Friends of the Kaminski House. The original intent of the support provide by the city was to help the Kaminski House Museum through the Friends of Kaminski House gain its footing and become self-sufficient. 

The Friends of the Kaminski House have done a good job maintaining and restoring the building and its contents with funds from the city above and beyond the annual stipend. Their dedication to preserving this piece of history is an asset to the city. 

The Friends of Kaminski House organization has grown in the 23 years since they first began managing the museum. They currently rent office space to house their three full time and one part time employees. This is in addition to accounting and payroll contractors. They have grown the revenue stream that helps support their operations. They have also recently completed the remodeling of a gift shop that will add to their income. 

Furthermore, additional ways of generating revenue and helping the Friends of Kaminski House become self–sufficient have been presented to the organization and hopefully they will be implemented and make up for any shortfalls.

As the new mayor and city council prepare their first budget, tough choices must be made. There are several issues that need to be addressed; halting the dramatic rise in utilities, a critical housing shortage, a lack of living wage jobs and the redevelopment of the Steel Mill, Paper Mill and Seaport. Therefore, in order to balance the city’s budget, the city must draw down its reserves. The Kaminski House also has reserves which they can draw from to assist in their transition to self–sufficiency. 

These difficult decisions need to be made to fulfill the mandate that the elected mayor and city council represent the entire city and restore affordability. With the excellent staff running the Kaminski House, along with its host of volunteers, the Kaminski House will survive and thrive.”