Town Green Plans Biz-District Tax Bump

Downtown’s business improvement district is looking for an extra $60,000 from city taxpayers — and a 7.5 percent surtax hike on downtown property owners — to help fund its ongoing efforts to beautify and liven up the city center.

Town Green Special Services District Executive Director Win Davis made that pitch Thursday night during the latest Board of Alders Finance Committee meeting, which was held in person in the Hillhouse High School auditorium on Sherman Parkway.

He said that his downtown business improvement district plans to raise its city-sanctioned tax levy on downtown property owners from 1.99 to 2.14 mills. It is also seeking to have its line item in the city’s general fund budget increased from $140,000 to $200,000.

The meeting marked the Finance Committee’s final public hearing and set of departmental workshops in its months-long review of Mayor Justin Elicker’s proposed $633 million general fund budget for Fiscal Year 2022 – 23 (FY23). If approved by the full Board of Alders, that budget would go into effect on July 1.

Davis appeared before the committee alders Thursday night because the city budget controls two key revenue streams for the private downtown business- and resident-support organization.

First, the budget and city law authorize the city to levy a surtax on downtown property owners on behalf of the Town Green District. Revenue raised from that surtax funds the vast majority of Town Green’s annual budget, which in turn pays for such Town Green services as cleaning sidewalks, emptying trash cans, providing outdoor tables and seating in public places, maintaining hundreds of flower baskets, running business-boosting festivals and outdoor markets, and employing over a dozen uniformed ​“ambassadors.” (Click here to read more about Town Green’s work in its 2021 annual report.)

Second, the city budget includes a line item for the Town Green District, essentially providing an annual cash contribution from New Haven’s general fund to the special services district to help it balance the latter’s books.

Budget Pitch: 2.14 Mill Rate; $200K City Subsidy

On Thursday night, Davis told the committee alders that the Town Green District has proposed raising its municipal tax levy next fiscal year from 1.99 to 2.14 mills. That’s a tax hike of around 7.5 percent. (One mill represents one dollar in taxes owed for every $1,000 in assessed property value.)

This proposed district-specific tax increase for downtown property owners would be on top of the mayor’s proposed citywide mill rate of 42.75.

According to a budget printout that Davis gave to the alders on Thursday, the district raises a vast majority of its annual revenue via this city-sanctioned surtax levy.

For example, in the current fiscal year, Town Green District raised $1.31 million of its $1.53 million in budgeted revenue from the municipal surtax, at a mill rate of 1.99.

Next fiscal year, Town Green District plans to raise $1.48 million of its $1.83 million in budgeted revenue from the municipal surtax, at a proposed mill rate of 2.14.

“This is the first mill rate increase in seven years” for the Town Green District, Davis said on Thursday. 

“The board and staff examined a variety of different mill rate options” and, because ​“the rising costs of doing business have outpaced income,” the district’s board signed off on a budget with a higher mill rate.

Meanwhile, in the ​“Various Organization Contributions” section of the city budget, the mayor has proposed sending $200,000 directly to the Town Green District. That’s a proposed increase of $60,000 when compared to the $140,000 that the city sent the district this fiscal year. 

Davis added that Town Green’s board has already signed off on the organization’s budget for the coming fiscal year. Now all the district needs is a final approval from the alders.

Ambassador Salaries. Vacant Storefront Art. Downtown Events

East Rock Alder Anna Festa asked Davis to explain more about the purpose of the mill rate increase. What improvements will it fund? What increased costs will it help cover?

Davis said that the district currently employs 16 full-time ambassadors — uniformed workers who do everything from cleaning sidewalks to shoveling snow to greeting passersby to calling the police when they see illegal activity.

“Most of our ambassadors will start at minimum wage and then work their way up fairly quickly,” Davis said. And since the state’s minimum wage will be increasing from $14 to $15 an hour next fiscal year, he said, that will mean an increase to the cost of employing those workers.

Davis said that the district also currently pays an annual lease for the 47 Big Belly trash cans that it has installed throughout the district. Those trash cans are rodent-proof, provide an alert when they are full, and are a boon for downtown’s cleanliness, he said. ​“We have determined that those receptacles are very much worth the additional costs.”

He said the district hopes to buy out its lease of the trash cans next fiscal year, which will mean a great upfront cost in exchange for greater long-term savings.

Davis said the budget increase will also help fund an expansion of the district’s public art program.

Over the last two years, he said, the district has completed five largescale murals and has installed artworks in two dozen vacant storefronts. That latter initiative is designed to ​“increase the perception of a vibrant and lit downtown, of a downtown that is absolutely occupied rather than vacant,” he said.

And on top of all of that, Davis said that the district has been running an operational deficit for a number of years. This fiscal year its expenditures are projected to come in at $123,000 more than its revenue. Next fiscal year, even with the proposed mill rate and city contribution increases, the district is projecting expenses to top revenues by $45,000.

“This addition of city funding is in line with us increasing the mill rate,” he said. ​“We’re not trying to in any way pass off additional costs on the city. We ourselves as property owners are also shouldering a larger burden.”

And what exactly will the extra $60,000 from the city general fund go towards? Fair Haven Alder Ernie Santiago asked.

That will help ​“backfill hours in our ​‘clean and safe’ program, which would be the salaries piece,” Davis said. ​“We have increased our public art budget. We have increased our events and activation budget, so you will see more events downtown. We’ve also looked to increase the amount of streetscape that we are putting out there, in terms of décor, our planter program, and holiday decorations.”

“We have been making steady investments in downtown within our district over the past five years,” Davis added, ​“which unfortunately increased our costs.” Thus the requested mill rate bump and increase in city cash contributions.