The North Sacramento Chamber of Commerce is hosting Sacramento County Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan in a special panel discussion about Property Based Improvement Districts (PBIDs). Supervisor MacGlashan represents District 4, including parts of Rio Linda, Elverta, and Antelope. She is a strong advocate for good fiscal planning and responsible budgeting, helping steer the County through the tough budgets of years past.
Recently, a group of business property owners in the North Watt Avenue area recently voted overwhelmingly to assess themselves an annual tax to form the Watt Avenue Property and Business Improvement District.
With an annual budget of around $450,000, the nonprofit Watt Avenue PBID will provide enhanced security, area maintenance, marketing and other services for the district. The “WAPBID” is one of nearly two dozen PBIDs in the Sacramento area. There are 1,500 PBIDs in the United States and Canada.
One of the Watt Avenue PBID’s main supporters, Recycling Industries General Manager David Kuhnen, said “This has been a blighted area. This area has a history of drug trafficking, prostitution, crime and homelessness. The property owners, the businesses and the county have formed a partnership to identify and fund solutions to the problem.”
Kuhnen was delighted that more than 75 percent of the property owners agreed to a five-year assessment to fund the PBID. After five years, it can be renewed by a vote of the property owners. Half of the money will go to security, 16 percent for maintenance, 11 percent for advocacy and image enhancement and the rest for capital improvements, administration and contingency.
The panel will include business owners in leadership positions with other existing PBIDs and an Executive Director for a PBID. They will discuss what they have done, process and challenges in organizing, and what they see as the value of such organizations.
This program is being sponsored by the Sacramento County Economic Development Department.
The luncheon will be hosted at Habachi Sushi Grill Supreme Buffet.
For more information, contact the North Sacramento Chamber of Commerce at 916-275-4662 .
