What is a BID?
A Business Improvement District, or BID, is an additional assessment that businesses in a given area have agreed to pay. The money collected is used for the good of the area, generally used for upgrading amenities and increasing services that government does not provide. Business improvement district assessments are quite similar to traditional special assessments wherein property owners are assessed for improvements or services that benefit them. Unlike the traditional special assessments, however, business improvement district assessments can be used to finance a wide range of activities, services, and improvements. Some BIDs in Wisconsin have funded physical improvements like street lighting or parking; others have funded business recruitment programs; others have promoted increased City services in the district such as security or snow removal; still others have produced promotional and marketing materials and events.
Wisconsin Act 184, signed into law in 1984, gives Wisconsin municipalities the power to establish business improvement districts (BIDs) within their communities upon petition of at least one property owner within the proposed district. The State Legislature created Section 66.608 of the Wisconsin Statutes (the "BID Law") to provide a mechanism by which business properties within an established district could voluntarily assess themselves to pay for programs aimed at promoting, developing, redeveloping, managing and maintaining that district. In many instances, BIDs are established in downtowns so property owners can jointly attract tenants and increase the value of their properties. BIDs use a variety of methods to determine assessments, but a majority of Wisconsin BIDs assess based on each parcel’s assessed value. Of BIDs currently using such methodology, the average BID assessment is $2.52 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation each year. According to the BID law, properties used exclusively for residential purposes may not be assessed.
Business improvement district assessments are quite similar to traditional special assessments wherein property owners are assessed for improvements or services that benefit them. Unlike the traditional special assessments, however, business improvement district assessments can be used to finance a wide range of activities, services, and improvements. Some BIDs in Wisconsin have funded physical improvements like street lighting or parking; others have funded business recruitment programs; others have promoted increased City services in the district such as security or snow removal; still others have produced promotional and marketing materials and events.
