Council Basics
Responsibilities
The purpose of the Local Cultural Councils is to support public programs that advance the Commonwealth’s creative and cultural sector to foster a rich cultural life in communities across the Commonwealth. Local decision-making is an integral element of this system. LCCs have the right and responsibility to award grants that address cultural needs specific to their communities, and they can decide how to distribute funds if the state policies outlined in the program guidelines are followed.
LCC Duties
LCCs have several mandatory duties:
Recruit members and assign member roles and responsibilities
LCCs must have at least five members and no more than 22 members, who are appointed by their city or town’s appointing authority. All appointments must be recorded by the city or town clerk and include term dates. LCCs must annually elect a chair, secretary, and treasurer.
Solicit community input to assess local cultural needs
LCCs are responsible for ensuring that its grants and programs benefit the community to the greatest extent possible. To this end, each LCC must conduct yearly assessments of cultural needs within its community. Learn more about gathering community input.
Establish local priorities for the review of grant applications
Based on its community input process, LCCs are responsible for determining their own funding priorities. LCCs are strongly encouraged to develop written local priorities each year. Learn more about creating local priorities.
Communicate with the public
LCCs are responsible for promoting local awareness of their programs; informing the public of the availability of funds; publicizing the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the LCC office or contact person; and communicating with grant applicants and recipients. See sample letters and press releases.
Review and recommend action on local applications
Guidelines regarding local eligibility, review criteria, and procedures for the review of applications are laid out in detail in the Eligibility & Criteria and Evaluating Grants sections. LCCs must also follow all Open Meeting and Conflict of Interest Laws. Learn more about how to review grants.
Submit Annual Report to Mass Cultural Council
LCCs must submit the LCC Account Form, completed by the city or town, and then calculate the amount available for granting to Mass Cultural Council through the “Financial Report” section of the annual reporting by October 15 each year. (If the 15th falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline will be the following Tuesday or Wednesday respectively.) LCCs must submit their annual reporting to Mass Cultural Council through the grants management system by the statewide reporting deadline each year in mid-January.
Carry out other necessary administrative functions
Additional administrative functions include: the handling and processing of payment requests; all necessary record-keeping; establishment of a local office (if applicable); maintaining communications with the local treasurer; monitoring financial reports; other tasks as necessary for the efficient operation of the LCC.
Assuring Compliance with LCC Duties
The fundamental operations of LCCs are reviewed and approved by Mass Cultural Council on an annual basis before funds are released. Mass Cultural Council staff will check the following before releasing funds:
- The Annual Report to Mass Cultural Council was submitted by the January reporting deadline.
- All funds from the current year were granted.
When Mass Cultural Council finds that a Local Cultural Council has not adequately complied with its duties as specified in the LCC Program Guidelines, Mass Cultural Council may suspend all or part of its funding for that LCC. Mass Cultural Council may also specify corrective actions that the LCC must take before it can begin to receive funds again. If an LCC fails to take corrective actions specified by Mass Cultural Council within a time frame specified by Mass Cultural Council, Mass Cultural Council may redistribute any funds allocated to that Local Cultural Council.
If an LCC appears unable to comply, not only with its duties but also with corrective actions specified by Mass Cultural Council, then Mass Cultural Council may determine that a partial or complete change in the membership of the Local Cultural Council may be to enable the community to begin receiving its funds again. In these extraordinary cases, Mass Cultural Council may authorize the local appointing authority to remove a member or members from the LCC and appoint a new member or members.
State Reviews. Mass Cultural Council conducts periodic reviews of LCCs. Mass Cultural Council may review the applications and their supporting documentation, payment requests submitted by grantees, and adherence to following the procedures outlined in the LCC Program Guidelines. Mass Cultural Council may employ third-party experts to conduct these periodic reviews.
Record-keeping
LCC grant applications are stored in Mass Cultural Council’s online grants management system. All meeting minutes, disclosure forms, and any other LCC records must be maintained in a public place. At least six years’ worth of records must be kept in a secure space identified by the city or town clerk. Records more than six years old should be archived using the same procedures employed by the local government. City or town clerks can reference Massachusetts Statewide Records Retention Schedule L13 24 for additional information. To facilitate access to the current year’s records, the LCC Chair may keep those records in their home; however, the city or town clerk should be notified of their location.
Information on LCC members should be entered directly into the grants management system and the town clerk’s office should be provided with regular membership updates so potential applicants can find LCC contacts and get assistance when needed. All records of the actions of LCCs are considered public information and are subject to the state’s Public Records Law. LCCs must be available to respond to requests to view these materials “without unreasonable delay.” The Public Records Law establishes a maximum delay of 10 days from the day of the request.
We advise LCCs to check with their municipality to determine how they should retain records.
