On Thursday (11/12/20) during Business Session at City Hall, we heard the presentation on the CID survey that was recently completed and the discussion on next steps for the Resolution (#200309) that Councilmember Andrea Bough introduced earlier this year to address policy and oversight of Community Improvement Districts.
The video presentation can be viewed here:
Here is a link to the slideshow:
Next steps would mean to start working with the law department and other city council members to draft a new ordinance which would provide some reform to the current policy based on the presentation's recommendations:
We asked what impact the City Auditor's work will have, if any, on this process and having an Ordinance by January and following is Councilmember Bough's response:
As far as the City Auditor’s process, we had hoped that the report would have coincided with the work we were doing on the resolution, so that any recommendations could be incorporated However the City Auditor’s has been delayed. We have had some discussions on how to proceed. We may introduce a draft ordinance, and then incorporate any recommendations during the public hearing process. We will regroup after our break and decide whether to introduce before the end of the year of hold off until the first in anticipation of possible recommendations.
If nothing else, we can proceed with our work, and incorporate any additional changes in a subsequent ordinance, if the City Auditor’s audit is delayed for several months and makes recommendations in addition to those we are considering. We hope that we will be thorough in the changes that we will be proposing in the ordinance.
There is still time to weigh in on the results of this study and what you feel would be an appropriate change to the Community Improvement Districts.
The Waldo Tower Neighborhood Association has traditionally rejected layering CIDs on top of each other without voters having a say. We also support the cap on how much tax can be added with a CID and limiting the use of single-owner CIDs (especially when blighted conditions have been caused by the owner).
Send your feedback to Councilmember Andrea Bough (816-513-6523) and Mayor Pro Tem Kevin McManus (816-513-6525) by the end of the year.