Downtown Jefferson City CID slowly moving forward

Meeting in January to decide next steps

The Jefferson City Downtown Association is undertaking a slow but steady process in deciding whether to pursue a new taxing district to help cover costs of beautification and maintenance.

Throughout the past month, the association has been gathering input from downtown property owners and businesses on whether they would support a potential community improvement district, or CID, and how such a district would function.

Stephanie Bell, association president, said she's been meeting mostly one-on-one with property owners to discuss the idea and has received largely favorable responses from those she's approached. Bell said she's been primarily focused on those who own multiple properties or larger buildings downtown, because those owners will have more of a say due to how the process of establishing a CID is laid out. For example, if a property owner is in favor of the CID and owns three properties, that person gets to cast three favorable votes.

"It doesn't make a whole lot of sense for us to move forward unless our bigger players are on board," Bell said. "So we've been approaching people in that order."

Bell said she's probably reached about 45 percent support among property owners downtown as of late last week, without much convincing needed. She noted she has not met with every property owner or business owner yet.

"So far, the response has been very good," Bell said. "Now, the job is to go and start meeting with everybody."

Because a CID would need approval from the Jefferson City Council, Bell said they are trying to reach a number closer to 65 percent in support of the proposal to show there's a consensus among downtown property owners.

She said when she approaches a property owner, she brings information specific to that property, including how much the owner can expect to pay based on the existing special assessment proposal.

Last month, the association held an open house for downtown property owners where about 15 people attended a presentation on the potential CID and how it would work. At that meeting, Bell emphasized a CID would ensure each property or business pays its fair share for costs like snow removal and flowers. Currently, those types of services are funded through membership dues for the Downtown Association, which are $150 per year for a full membership.

Also presented was a potential draft budget for downtown if a CID were enacted, which featured both a special assessment of $8 per linear foot of street frontage and a one-quarter-cent sales tax. Any sales tax would have to be approved by voters within the district.

As proposed now, the CID would be governed by a board made up of three property owners, three business owners and three residents of downtown, though nothing has been finalized and the proposal could still change as discussions continue.

Because the holiday season is quickly creeping up, Bell said the association will take a step back for the next few weeks and come back in mid-January, when they will hold a meeting on a Saturday to discuss the long-term vision of the downtown. The meeting will be open to the public, and Bell said then they will discuss whether a downtown CID is something to pursue in 2015 or later years.

What is a CID?

According to the Missouri Department of Economic Development, a Community Improvement District (CID) "may be either a political subdivision or a not-for-profit corporation ... organized for the purpose of financing a wide range of public-use facilities and establishing and managing policies and public services relative to the needs of the district."

To create a CID, a petition must be signed by a majority, which is 50 percent plus one, of the property owners who control a majority of the assessed valuation in the district. The petition must contain a five-year plan describing the purpose of the district, the services it will provide, the improvements it will make, an estimate of the costs for all services and improvements, and the maximum rates of property taxes or special assessments that may be imposed.

The petition must then be presented to the City Council to be enacted by ordinance. Currently, there are only two CIDs in Jefferson City - the Southside Munichburg Community Improvement District, which uses a special assessment of $2.25 per linear foot of street frontage, and the Capital Mall Community Improvement District, which uses a sales tax to help pay for renovations and improvements at the mall.

If the downtown properties decide to pursue a CID, they will need to decide the boundaries of the district, what funding mechanism to use and exactly what should be funded.