CARY - Municipal budgeting in a recession isn't too far from what goes on in your home: Does Sally need new clothes this fall? Does Cary need new sculptures?

The town already stopped or stalled dozens of construction projects in December to cut costs.

Town officials are now struggling to prioritize public art spending.

In a January work session, the town's public art consultant, Jennifer Murphy, recommended the town look into adopting a "percent-for-art" ordinance through which a percentage of a budget for a public construction project, such as a park or a building, is set aside for public art.

Some towns allot between one and two percent. Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh have percentage guidelines for public art.

"I don't support any plan that requires a percentage," Councilman Don Frantz said.

Other council members say that adopting an enforceable ordinance shows the town is serious about art and town aesthetics.

The model has created some problems for Raleigh, which adopted a half-percent ordinance last summer. A $205 million project to build a new public safety center has been put on hold. Some of the concerns stem from the center's original $705,000 public art budget.

Murphy has been a public arts consultant for more than two decades. She's worked in cities such as Dallas, San Diego and Memphis to plan and design public art projects. She helped write Cary's public art master plan, adopted nine years ago. "If a park or new government-funded building or endeavor is considered important during tough economic times, the public art is one component of that project. And a very small percentage of that project," she said.

But she understands the hesitation.

As towns and cities try to balance tight budgets, it's hard to make a case for high price-tag art spending.

"The economy is definitely a factor - especially now," Murphy said.

Some communities may want more flexibility in funding, she said. The "percent-for-art" model is just standard practice for many towns.

Other towns give incentives to private developers to incorporate public art in their projects.

There's a case to be made for the economic benefits of public art spending, however.

In 2005, Wake County arts groups and patrons brought in more than $10 million in local and state revenues, according to Americans for the Arts, a Washington nonprofit organization.

"The arts invite new business to communities. People want to relocate to communities that are attractive and offer enriched quality of life," Murphy said.

"In tough economic times, beauty and enhanced places and more user-friendly places and spaces are even more necessary to instilling community pride and creating a sense of place that is attractive to potential business relocation."

Courteney Allan was standing near "Join the Parade" Friday morning, a series of sculptures by Jane Rankin that show three girls and three boys playing instruments outside Town Hall.

"It's cute, but I don't know if I'd want the town to spend more money on this stuff right now," she said. "But if we didn't have any public art, I think Cary would look even more like a generic suburban area."

The town's got several notable pieces right now, including: "The Railroad Man" outside the downtown train depot, the benches and KATAL the dragon at Kids Together Playground in Marla Dorrel Park and "Bowstring Vines," the pedestrian bridge over U.S. 1/64.

Of course, it's up to Cary officials to decide how to move forward.

The work session didn't come to any conclusions.

The public art master plan is up for review this year.

Murphy said she's seen people rally around the arts in unexpected ways.

In Charlotte, a mural slated for the inside of police headquarters was once nixed because the public didn't necessarily use the building, she recalled. A private citizen said he would donate a large sum of money if the city matched his contribution.

"Money started pouring in from citizens who said that police officers deserved a beautiful space and art," she said.

The community ended up exceeding the resident's donation, sending in five-dollar bills.

"These stories are always enough to reassure me that the community does love the arts," Murphy said.