BIDS ARE PERMANENT Any business owner knows how hard the business has to work for the money a business builds up over the years. Having this money confiscated and re-distributed to other businesses is not to be taken lightly. And NOW is the time to voice your opposition. Because, once enacted, BIDs DO NOT GO AWAY. Why is this? Won't the city simply find out that the BID doesn't work, and stop the annual confiscation? Have you ever known a tax to be withdrawn or reduced?
“Won't the Business Improvement District idea be scrapped, if it doesn't take hold?” No, it won't disappear. When a business improvement district is proposed, the shoestring startup businesses are, of course delighted. “Progressive” established businesses in the district are mildly interested. “Aw, let's try it. We'll give the other businesses a chance, let's see what happens.” they say. Successful independent businesses, although in a minority, fall for the sales pitch of “progress”, and to placate other businesses and to give the appearance of being progressive, they acquiesce.
Once the BID is established, once the Government Office is open for business, the only way for any business to succeed within the BID is by “working the system”. And now the independent business has yet another “boss” to answer to.
The unelected officials at the BID office direct the business affairs of the district. Everything from police protection to tax incentives – it's all distributed at the Government Store Down the Street. More police patrols? Security? Street conditions? The city will tell you “go talk to your BID office”. Once a city bureaucrat finds out that someone is within a BID, the tendency is to refer business owners to the BID office. The BID office acts as the advocate in all departments of municipal government, moving the businesses one more bureaucratic layer from the people who are supposed to be serving them.
This is enough to drive successful businesses out of business. Those who once made a living find their resources drained by endless extra paperwork and relentless tax increases, now made worse by the additional BID tax. The smart businesses find that it is necessary to do business elsewhere as a matter of survival. The ones who lack this foresight are doomed to fail.
And once the profitable and once-successful businesses have left the District, what's left? The shoestring startups, clinging by their startup loans and grants. The startups, now in a majority, manipulate the BID. They see it as all “take” and no “give”. The vote for continuation of the BID is a vote for the end of business for the area. Anybody want to take a walk down Mitchell Street? Didn't think so.
Taxpayer's-eye view of Milwaukee Business Improvement District #44 activities.
BID#44 is funded by a mandatory tax surcharge
on all commercial building owners within the District.
Comments are welcome on this forum.
1 comment:
Yes...speaking of Mitchell Street--a few years back, when the plans were coming out to eliminate the "mall" aspect and go back to the original cross-street plan, it came out that the "mall" was never paid for completely!!! Something in the neighbourhood of $200,000 was still outstanding to various contractors, vendors, etc. Now that the "mall" is history and the cross-streets are back, I wonder if the bills for this project are paid (and did the "mall" ever get paid off?)
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