SID Needs Support
A Crescent Avenue property owner came to the City Council meeting Wednesday to ask why her four-family residence was on the Special Improvement District list.
The list of 447 properties is supposed to include only commercial buildings on which a special tax is assessed to help fund activities to improve the downtown and South Avenue business districts. The extra property tax is matched with Urban Enterprise Zone funds for an annual budget to make the shopping districts cleaner and safer.
However, since it was established by city ordinance in 2004, glitches have marred the group’s ability to do its work.
Among the problems, an expansion resulted in the mistaken inclusion of several apartment buildings on the assessment list. That was supposedly cleared up, but the plight of the Crescent Avenue owner shows it was not.
The Special Improvement District board realigned its budget to match the city’s fiscal year, which begins July 1. But the SID budget was not approved until December and the list of those to be assessed was only published March 11. It would have given the proper 10 days’ notice before a March 21 City Council vote, but the $1,370 legal notice was lacking one important column – the amount each owner was to be assessed.
The legal notice must be re-published and the vote may take place in April. By the time the money comes in, the fiscal year will nearly be over.
The victory for merchants of achieving formation of a Special Improvement District has proved to be a hollow one in terms of city support to help it work. Last year, the late City Council President Ray Blanco took issue with its management and called the board’s presentation to the council a “dog and pony show.”
This year, the support from those in City Hall has fallen short. The group itself has no power to make the assessment but must rely on several city offices to each do their part. Only upon receiving the funds can the group carry out its plans.
If this were a personal relationship, Dear Abby or another columnist might judge it harshly. Two entities agreed on a partnership, but one partner keeps messing up, so the vows mean little or nothing.
Can this marriage be saved? The goal of a more attractive experience for shoppers will only become more desirable if the downtown goes more upscale. But if the SID can’t effectively do its work to make Plainfield more inviting, the city will lose out. It’s time for the city’s effectiveness to become a closer match with the SID’s enthusiasm if the partnership is to be viable.
--Bernice Paglia
The list of 447 properties is supposed to include only commercial buildings on which a special tax is assessed to help fund activities to improve the downtown and South Avenue business districts. The extra property tax is matched with Urban Enterprise Zone funds for an annual budget to make the shopping districts cleaner and safer.
However, since it was established by city ordinance in 2004, glitches have marred the group’s ability to do its work.
Among the problems, an expansion resulted in the mistaken inclusion of several apartment buildings on the assessment list. That was supposedly cleared up, but the plight of the Crescent Avenue owner shows it was not.
The Special Improvement District board realigned its budget to match the city’s fiscal year, which begins July 1. But the SID budget was not approved until December and the list of those to be assessed was only published March 11. It would have given the proper 10 days’ notice before a March 21 City Council vote, but the $1,370 legal notice was lacking one important column – the amount each owner was to be assessed.
The legal notice must be re-published and the vote may take place in April. By the time the money comes in, the fiscal year will nearly be over.
The victory for merchants of achieving formation of a Special Improvement District has proved to be a hollow one in terms of city support to help it work. Last year, the late City Council President Ray Blanco took issue with its management and called the board’s presentation to the council a “dog and pony show.”
This year, the support from those in City Hall has fallen short. The group itself has no power to make the assessment but must rely on several city offices to each do their part. Only upon receiving the funds can the group carry out its plans.
If this were a personal relationship, Dear Abby or another columnist might judge it harshly. Two entities agreed on a partnership, but one partner keeps messing up, so the vows mean little or nothing.
Can this marriage be saved? The goal of a more attractive experience for shoppers will only become more desirable if the downtown goes more upscale. But if the SID can’t effectively do its work to make Plainfield more inviting, the city will lose out. It’s time for the city’s effectiveness to become a closer match with the SID’s enthusiasm if the partnership is to be viable.
--Bernice Paglia
posted by Bernice at 9:01 AM
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