BID Members Vote on 5 More Years and 5% Tax Increase — Deadline Is Tomorrow
By • May 2, 2024 One Comment 832
Vote Extended Through May 3
The 25-year-old Georgetown Business Improvement District has extended the voting deadline on the new GBID Board which approved 5-year plan and 5-percent tax rate increase to 5 p.m., Friday, May 3.
“Every five years, D.C. Business Improvement Districts must apply to the Mayor to be reauthorized for an additional five-year term. The Georgetown BID’s current term expires on September 30th and we will submit our renewal application this week. The Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD) will hold a hearing on our application in June and we anticipate the Mayor will issue our renewal order soon thereafter,” the GBID told members last month.
“The Georgetown BID started in 1999 by providing cleaning, safety, and marketing programs and over the past 25 years the BID has grown in scale and scope. …
“Today, Georgetown is the most successful retail market in the District, with the best neighborhood amenities for office workers, the hospitality industry, and visitors. That’s the good news.
“The hard news is that FY 2025 commercial tax assessments in the BID are significantly lower than they were in FY 2020. That, combined with inflation, has created a significant budget gap that needs to be closed.
“On March 21, the Georgetown BID Board of Directors voted unanimously to adopt a five-year renewal plan and FY 2025 budget that maintains our core services and programs while reducing non-essential programs to balance the budget.
“In addition to significant budget cuts, the Board voted to spread some non-recurring reserve funds over the next five years to maintain popular programs and to adjust the BID tax rate for the first time in 17 years from $.1545/$100 to $.1622/$100 of assessed value. The impact of this rate change will have a negligible impact on most properties, costing an additional $6.40/month per $1 million in assessed value. After this rate adjustment, about 1/3 of Georgetown properties will pay less BID tax than they have for the last five years, and 2/3 will pay more, primarily because the underlying D.C. assessment has gone up since 2020.
“The Board did not take this action lightly but agreed that our commercial district’s success depends on a strong BID that has the resources to provide the high-quality services and programs our members and the community have come to expect.
“As a next step, the Board requests that you review the attached five-year renewal online at georgetowndc.com/five-year-renewal and cast your member ballot in favor of the plan and tax rate adjustment. …”
You have election questions or feedback, please email John Wiebenson at jwiebenson@georgetowndc.com.
Click on the Tenant Ballot PDF here for an individual vote. Please email your ballot to Louisa Nanan — LNanan@GeorgetownDC.com
How about an emphasis on original purpose of BID, “cleaning and safety,” versus any encroachment on our historic residential neighborhood, such as efforts to move traffic off of M and Wisconsin onto streets where we live. This jeopardizes our safety and quality of life.