Center City Park Still Smelling of Three Day Old Fish!

I first blogged on Center City Park on December 3, 2005 and entitled the entry Center City Park’s Fish Has Become Known. The Rhino reported and I blogged on information that was a surprise to quite a few people.

The Center City Park was privately owned and would remain so but the city had spent $750,000 on street scaping around the park and had agreed to pay to maintain the park with the first year estimated to cost $200,000. The owner of Center City Park is the Bryan Foundation and their reason for keeping the park in private ownership rather than give it to the city was so they could sell alcoholic beverages at any events held at the park.

The public was not happy about this situation at all and there was quite a bit of debate over The Rhino article on my blog and others. Maintaining a private park just didn’t sit well and it came up frequently during the intervening months whenever someone wanted to illustrate poor judgment on the part of the City Council. The most recent mention of Center City Park was on David Hoggard's (Hoggsblog) August 13 when the discussion was on not having money to repair city property. Roch Smith suggested that “bad choices” by the city council like their deal with “Center City Park” was perhaps part of the problem.

Ms. Carmany’s, a member of the City Council, voluntarily explained when Center City Park came up that the city was no longer paying for the maintenance of the privately owned property. She wrote, “A bit of explanation about the city funding for the upkeep of the Center City Park: technically, that is the downtown BID’s money that is being used for that purpose. When the downtown BID (Business Improvement District) was approved, it became a legal entity entitled to receive a share of the county’s sales tax distribution just like the cities and towns in Guilford County ---the BID gets its proportional share just like Greensboro, Summerfield, Pleasant Garden, etc. It was theirs to spend as they saw fit in their budget — the city council agreed for THAT sales tax money to be used to pay for the park maintenance. If it had not been allocated for that, it could be used for other expenses or improvements to downtown, but not the city’s general fund.”

I had heard of BID’s which are also called Municipal Service Taxing Districts and with which I have had some experience, so this explanation did not at all fit with my experiences of just how MSTU’s or BID’s operate. I also questioned the possible legality of downtown Greensboro being put on an equal footing with the cities in Guilford County and due a "proportional share" of the county sales tax. I concluded that a bit of research was needed.

First, we should define just what a business Improvement District is: the Web Encyclopedia defines BID‘s as: “A business improvement district (BID) (also known as a special improvement district, a business improvement area, or a business revitalization zone) is a public/private sector partnership”…… “BIDs are grassroots organizations, that are driven by community support and require legislative authorization by the municipality in which it resides, in order to be established”……”BIDs are funded through special assessments (taxes) collected from the property owners in the defined boundaries of the district”…..”BIDs are overseen (and administered) by a Board of Directors that is elected by the members of the district.” “They are a legal entity within a municipality but to the extent of their specific purposes are independent of the municipality that allowed their formation.”

My experience with a Municipal Services Taxing District: Our subdivision had 4 lakes within its boundaries and the developer had set aside and donated to the community a parcel of lakefront property on each lake to be used as recreation areas and for boat ramps. Two of the 4 parcels had been developed recreation areas by the developer and to be maintained by the residents after they were deeded to the community. We could have turned deeded them to the county to be used as public parks, but that would have brought an inordinate amount of traffic into our residential area. Our subdivision was a unincorporated area so the governing body we had to apply to for permission to form the MSTU was the county. With the formation of the Municipal Services Taxing Unit in which we taxed ourselves for the funds we would need for our private parks. These specially assessed taxes were paid in addition to our regular county taxes. The county collected the taxes as an addition to our property tax bill and for a fee the county Parks and Recreation Department was set up to pay our bills from our separate funds. We elected a Board of Directors to make decisions concerning the MSTU and to decide how the money was to be spent and what improvements to make. After the initial approval of our MSTU the county commissioners never again had anything to do with it.

The News and Record reported on the request for the BID that the downtown property owners were seeking from the city and explained the operation of the Greensboro Downtown Business Improvement District in the following article:

“Greensboro News & Record (NC) - May 3, 2004 VOLUNTARY TAXATION? - A PROPOSED BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT IS WORTH TRYING IN DOWNTOWN GREENSBORO. BUT IT SHOULD BE HELD TO STRICT MEASURES AND ACCOUNTABILITY. (excerpts only; the entire article at the end of this entry)

“Why would anyone in his right mind volunteer to be taxed? Yet a number of downtown property owners and businesses are doing precisely that, petitioning the City Council for the opportunity to be taxed, above and beyond what they already pay. The allure is that the money would go strictly to needs they have identified in their part of town. And if they are not satisfied, they can ask that the tax be rescinded in a year. The special assessment would be levied if the (city) council agrees to define the center city as a Business Improvement District, or BID“……“And BID’s place an engaging emphasis on taxation with representation: The money raised goes exclusively back to the community that paid it. A board of directors comprising primarily downtown business property owners would oversee the initiatives, which Downtown Greensboro Inc. would administer”

As defined by the three examples above Ms. Carmany’s explanation of Greensboro’s Downtown Business Improvement District is not remotely in agreement with any of them. Now please do not take this as my questioning Ms. Carmany’s integrity because I am not in any way ; I am merely pointing out that what she says is the arrangement is not a BID as defined and understood by me, an encyclopedia, or apparently what Greensboro downtown businesses, of which the N&R is one, planned to present to the city council for approval.

Some inconsistencies: 1. A BID taxes itself above and beyond the regular city/county taxes. There is no mention of a “share of the county’s sales tax distribution just like the cities and towns in Guilford County ---the BID gets its proportional share”. In all other explanations of BID’s there is never a mention of “share of county’s sales tax”. And if this is the case it certainly is a very bad precedent to initiate because what is to stop other shopping areas or even residential areas from petitioning for their own BID and their “ proportional share“ of the county’s sales taxes”? And how does this set with the other cities in the county? Might they too develop BID’s within their city limits to get a “proportional share” of the county’s sales taxes?

2. The BID sets the additional tax rate and the money raised goes directly back to the community that paid it. In Ms. Carmany’s explanation it is the “proportional share of the county’s sales taxes that Greensboro’s downtown BID gets and not any separate taxes that they raised themselves. The "share of county's sales tax" money that she claims is going to the downtown BID is most probably a share of the share Greensboro gets from the county. This arrangement as far as the rest of us in Greensboro are concerned if the money did not go to the downtown BID it would go where it belongs which is in the General Funds for the use of all of Greensboro’s tax payers needs. A bit unfair here I think.

3. “A board of directors comprising primarily downtown business property owners would oversee the initiatives, which Downtown Greensboro Inc. would administer” An elected Board of Directors would oversee the initiatives, not the city council. DOWNTOWN GREENSBORO Inc would administer or decide where the money goes and in this case I understand even pay the bills.

4. Some facts obtained from the city council meetings and the 2006 budget as approved by the city council taken from the city’s web pages at: http://www.greensboro-nc.gov/Departments/Budget/Budget2006

A) The Downtown Greensboro Business Improvement District was formed in May 2004 according to the News and Record article quoted above.

B) In the 2006 budget under Non-departmental Culture and Recreation is a list of funds for city parks and activities. One is marked All Others: 2004-05: $230,000, 2005-06: $10,000, 2006-07: $217,000, 2007-08: $217,000 An in a footnote: “The “All Other” category identifies funds for the City’s contribution for the maintenance of Center City Park and the Festival of Lights." It would appear then that for the past 2 years the City has contributed $240,000 for the maintenance of a park not yet finished, and plans to contribute $217,000 a year for the next two.

C) In the 2006 budget under Non-departmental Economic and Community Development for the “Greensboro Economic Development Partnership” 2004-05: $150,000, 2005-06: $200,000, 2006-07: $200,000, 2007-08: $200,000. And for “Downtown Infill/development” 2004-05: $255,000. 2005-06: $255,000. 2006-07: $363,000, 2007-08: $363,000. Seems like an awfully lot of money still going to downtown for the past two years and projected even more for the next two years. It does make one wonder just what the Downtown Greensboro Business Improvement District (BID) is paying for doesn’t it? All of the funding above is coming from the General Fund, or your and my tax dollars.

D) At the November 15, 2005 meeting the City Council approved a $256,000 contract with Rentenbach Construction for the “Center City Park Streetscape Project”. And at the May 16, 2006 meeting the city manager made a request for additional funding for downtown of which Center City Park was one mentioned. This may well be the $363,000 listed above.

All of the above funds from Greensboro’s General Fund for downtown and in several cases specifically for the privately owned Center City Park and yet, Ms. Carmany assures us that the city tax payers are not paying for the construction this park. I leave it to you to decide, are we or are we not paying for a park owned by the Bryan Foundation. I would also beg you to consider the bond issue (another way of saying mortgage) that the city is asking us to approve in November for the repair of city owned buildings and properties because they are badly in need of repair and according to the City Council there is just no money for this work.

1) http://www.greensboro-nc.gov/Departments/Budget/Budget2006/

See: Nondepartmental Culture and Recreation, and

Nondepartmental Economic and community Development

Entire N&R May 3, 2004 Article

VOLUNTARY TAXATION? -
A PROPOSED BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT IS WORTH TRYING IN DOWNTOWN GREENSBORO. BUT IT SHOULD BE HELD TO STRICT MEASURES AND ACCOUNTABILITY.

Greensboro News & Record (NC)
May 3, 2004

Estimated printed pages: 2

Why would anyone in his right mind volunteer to be taxed?

Yet a number of downtown property owners and businesses are doing precisely that, petitioning the City Council for the opportunity to be taxed, above and beyond what they already pay.

The allure is that the money would go strictly to needs they have identified in their part of town. And if they are not satisfied, they can ask that the tax be rescinded in a year. The special assessment would be levied if the council agrees to define the center city as a Business Improvement District, or BID.

The proposed rate of 9 cents per $100 of property value ($90 a year for a property worth $100,000) would raise roughly $350,000 to fund services beyond what the city normally provides, including daily trash pickup and graffiti removal, "ambassadors" to supplement police patrols, and a full-time marketing and events coordinator.

BIDs are popular and widespread, numbering nearly 1,000 in North America. There are close to five dozen such districts in North Carolina cities, including Charlotte, Raleigh and Reidsville. Further, their renewal rate of 99 percent (most have "sunset" provisions) reflects strong satisfaction among the governments that levy the taxes and the property owners who pay the freight. For instance, Columbia, S.C., reports higher office occupancy rates that downtown boosters link directly to the promotional activities of the BID tax.

To be sure, there are legitimate concerns. Some of the largest property owners (including the News & Record) would owe thousands of dollars in additional taxes each July on top of their regular city tax bills. But most of them already have signed a petition favoring the tax, which supporters will present to the City Council on Tuesday night.

And, yes, this all seems so counter-intuitive - if anything, shouldn't local leaders be coming up with ways to make doing business downtown cheaper, not more expensive? Yet in successes across the country, downtowns with BIDs appear to attract more tenants and businesses, as well as increase night and weekend traffic for shops and restaurants. And BIDS place an engaging emphasis on taxation with representation: The money raised goes exclusively back to the community that paid it. A board of directors comprising primarily downtown business property owners would oversee the initiatives, which Downtown Greensboro Inc. would administer.

That said, the BID ought to be tied to strict goals and specific measures. In addition to quarterly meetings, audits and annual reports suggested in the Greensboro proposal, periodic surveys of downtown stakeholders would be useful.

But this is a model worth trying. The center city has made significant strides even in the midst of a soft economy. A successful BID could add cash and cachet to that new excitement.

Edition: ALL
Section: EDITORIAL
Page: A14
Column: EDITORIAL

Index Terms: AGENDA 2004: DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION

Copyright (c) 2004 Greensboro News & Record

Record Number: 0405030032

Politics

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I am an Opinionated Older Lady Who Speaks Out. You may not always agree with or like my messages, but they are sincerely given. Coming from looking back over a lifetime of social activism.