New City Audit Outlines Opportunities to Strengthen Arts Access Fund

The 2026 Arts Access Fund audit outlines findings, recommendations, and opportunities to strengthen the City's arts funding, oversight, and public accountability:

• Read full audit findings(HTML)
• Read full audit findings(PDF)
• Read City Administrator Raymond Lee's response(PDF)
• Read Office of Arts & Culture news release(HTML)

The City Auditor has released the 2026 audit report on the City's management of the Arts Education and Access Fund (Arts Access Fund) and its oversight of arts-related programs, funding, and responsibilities. The report identifies strengths, challenges, and opportunities to improve transparency, clarify coordination, and strengthen support for the Arts Access Fund.

The report spans August 2024 - October 2025 and includes 12 recommendations related to governance, administration, oversight, and evaluation of the Arts Access Fund. Following its creation in July 2024, the Office of Arts & Culture has advanced work in several areas identified in the audit, including development of an Arts Education Framework and improvements to grantmaking practices. Across the recommendations, some actions are complete and others are in progress.

The audit examines the City's role in stewarding public resources, from disbursements to school districts to grant awards, and outlines steps to clarify responsibilities, strengthen systems, and improve how the City tracks outcomes and communicates impact to Portlanders.

"I greatly appreciate the work of the Auditor's Office in assessing the City's implementation of Portland's Arts Education and Access Income Tax (Arts Tax)," said City Administrator Lee. "The audit findings highlight structural issues with the Arts Tax that need to be addressed for the fund to remain sustainable, and it affirms much of the work initiated by the City's newly formed Office of Arts & Culture after its start in July 2024."

Audit Themes and Findings

The 2026 audit report highlights several major themes, including:

• Opportunities to improve oversight, reporting, and public transparency related to arts funding and program outcomes.
• Opportunities to clarify roles, responsibilities, and decision-making across the Office of Arts & Culture, Revenue Division, Grants Management Division, Arts Access Fund Oversight Committee, and partners.

Overall, the report underscores that Portland's arts and culture infrastructure is both valuable and complex. It points to the importance of building systems that are clear, sustainable, and accountable while preserving the City's broader goals around public access and arts education.

Next steps

The Office of Arts & Culture has begun implementing the audit recommendations and will continue this work in coordination with City leadership, partner bureaus, and community stakeholders.

Additional information and related materials are available at the links below:

• Full audit findings(HTML)
• Full audit findings(PDF)
• City Administrator Raymond Lee's response(PDF)
• Office of Arts & Culture news release(HTML)