That the City of Monroe would want to create extra revenue for its Business Improvement District (BID) is understandable. That it would do so by extending its boundaries to businesses that may not benefit from their inclusion is disappointing. The fact that the extension occurred in a tie vote with two aldermen absent - one of them the representative of the BID area - is unfortunate.
The Monroe Common Council on Tuesday, Nov. 17, approved expanding the area BID encompasses to include additional businesses. Those businesses will pay a BID tax that will bring the district additional revenue that will continue to fund Monroe Main Street and help pay for streetscape-related maintenance issues.
The council's vote was 4-4. Aldermen Neal Hunter was absent, as was council member Thurston Hanson, whose Ward 7 encompasses the downtown area. The tie was broken by Mayor Ron Marsh, who has a council vote only when it breaks a deadlock.
Marsh said he cast his vote in favor of adding, and taxing, more businesses to BID because improvements made in the Main Street streetscaping efforts will improve property values in areas just off the Square, as well.
Fair enough. Marsh likely is correct about the property values. And he was well within his right to cast a tiebreaking vote Tuesday. City ordinance, debated at length a couple of years ago, gives the mayor that ability.
But the vote should have occurred while Hanson was present. Unfortunately, a commitment made this summer prevented Hanson from attending Tuesday. Hanson's input and vote on this matter should have been given more value. His vote is the voice of the businesses being included in BID.
Hanson's attendance and participation in council matters is not in question. He's one of the more active aldermen on the council. He's not one of the aldermen who miss council or committee meetings with any regularity.
Hanson's view of the BID expansion was clear in a statement he had read during Tuesday's meeting, and in comments he made to the Times after the vote.
"While there might be some benefits for a few businesses, it is my opinion that the negatives of this outweigh the positives," Hanson wrote in his statement read by Marsh to the council Tuesday. "This is no time to levy new taxes on a select few businesses, with the end result that they are simply passed on to their customers. ..."
Hanson said after the BID expansion was approved that it was another example of a "government entity doing a tax grab."
Tim Young of American Family Insurance was among those new BID businesses that objected. He said the downtown improvements won't necessarily benefit his and other service-oriented businesses that don't rely on walk-in customers. His point, and Hanson's absence Tuesday, are the reasons why the BID expansion vote did an injustice to the businesses that will be affected.
Giving those businesses the ability to opt out of their BID inclusion, as Hanson suggested, wouldn't necessarily have been the best solution. How many businesses would they realistically expect to agree to pay an additional tax?
But at the very least, the vote should have been done when the alderman representing the BID businesses was present. It's disappointing the council could not figure out a way to make that happen.
The Monroe Common Council on Tuesday, Nov. 17, approved expanding the area BID encompasses to include additional businesses. Those businesses will pay a BID tax that will bring the district additional revenue that will continue to fund Monroe Main Street and help pay for streetscape-related maintenance issues.
The council's vote was 4-4. Aldermen Neal Hunter was absent, as was council member Thurston Hanson, whose Ward 7 encompasses the downtown area. The tie was broken by Mayor Ron Marsh, who has a council vote only when it breaks a deadlock.
Marsh said he cast his vote in favor of adding, and taxing, more businesses to BID because improvements made in the Main Street streetscaping efforts will improve property values in areas just off the Square, as well.
Fair enough. Marsh likely is correct about the property values. And he was well within his right to cast a tiebreaking vote Tuesday. City ordinance, debated at length a couple of years ago, gives the mayor that ability.
But the vote should have occurred while Hanson was present. Unfortunately, a commitment made this summer prevented Hanson from attending Tuesday. Hanson's input and vote on this matter should have been given more value. His vote is the voice of the businesses being included in BID.
Hanson's attendance and participation in council matters is not in question. He's one of the more active aldermen on the council. He's not one of the aldermen who miss council or committee meetings with any regularity.
Hanson's view of the BID expansion was clear in a statement he had read during Tuesday's meeting, and in comments he made to the Times after the vote.
"While there might be some benefits for a few businesses, it is my opinion that the negatives of this outweigh the positives," Hanson wrote in his statement read by Marsh to the council Tuesday. "This is no time to levy new taxes on a select few businesses, with the end result that they are simply passed on to their customers. ..."
Hanson said after the BID expansion was approved that it was another example of a "government entity doing a tax grab."
Tim Young of American Family Insurance was among those new BID businesses that objected. He said the downtown improvements won't necessarily benefit his and other service-oriented businesses that don't rely on walk-in customers. His point, and Hanson's absence Tuesday, are the reasons why the BID expansion vote did an injustice to the businesses that will be affected.
Giving those businesses the ability to opt out of their BID inclusion, as Hanson suggested, wouldn't necessarily have been the best solution. How many businesses would they realistically expect to agree to pay an additional tax?
But at the very least, the vote should have been done when the alderman representing the BID businesses was present. It's disappointing the council could not figure out a way to make that happen.
