Facing a 2003 deficit of nearly $50 million, Mayor Thomas M. Menino trimmed around the edges of the city's budget rather than make across- the-board cuts. Arts programs, including the Film Bureau, were major budget victims. Lopping the agency off the budget will save the city about $70,000, plus the cost of the benefits for the bureau's director, its sole employee.
The Film Bureau, which Menino established in 1994, coordinated almost all aspects of film and television production. Its largest--and according to some in the industry, most crucial--tasks included walking producers through the permitting process, arranging for road closures and obtaining the necessary police and fire department details.
While it's difficult to estimate the financial impact the office had on the Hub, numerous films and TV shows have featured Boston prominently since it opened, including "Good Will Hunting," "The Practice" and "Ally McBeal." The mayor's office, however, is hopeful that the city won't take a financial hit as a result of shutting the bureau. The state operates a separate Massachusetts Film Office that coordinates filming statewide, but Carole Brennan, Menino's spokesperson, says it is more likely that the city's special events department will take on the Film Bureau's tasks. "They already coordinate non-film events," she says, "so they should be able to pick up the slack."
