Title
Public Hearing and Resolution to Approve the 2023 Downtown Enhanced Municipal Services District Assessments (Resolution 22084)
Description
Request to hold a public hearing for the approval of the 2023 Downtown Enhanced Municipal Services District (Downtown EMSD) assessments and adopt a resolution approving such assessments for the 2023 calendar year. The General Fund estimated annual expenditure for this program is $439,108.
Report
Summary
Pursuant to State law, a public hearing must be held prior to the annual adoption of the assessments for the Downtown EMSD. The City Council authorized the formation of the Downtown EMSD in 1990 to provide enhanced public services, above and beyond the level of services provided in the remainder of the City. The costs for the Downtown EMSD services are paid through assessments on property owners within the Downtown EMSD boundaries, which are generally bounded by Fillmore Street on the north, 7th Street on the east, 3rd Avenue on the west, and on the south by the railroad tracks south of Jackson Street.
The City contracts directly with Downtown Phoenix, Inc. (DPI) to implement the work program, as described in Attachment A. The work plan and budget for calendar year (CY) 2023 provides a variety of enhanced services in the downtown core, including business improvement services and overall business development.
The annual assessments for the Downtown EMSD will be levied for CY 2023 after the required legal process for the Downtown EMSD has been completed. Assessments are determined in proportion to the benefits received by each parcel. There are approximately 785 parcels in the Downtown EMSD that the budget will be assessed on. This is based on the approved Downtown EMSD assessment diagram that indicates the properties to be assessed for enhanced municipal services. This diagram is on file in the office of the Director of the City of Phoenix Street Transportation Department, and was posted online at the City's Community and Economic Development Department website.
The figures below represent the assessments for private and public property owners based on the approved 2023 Downtown EMSD budget of $4,706,256. See Attachment B for a breakdown of the expense categories.
This includes $167,222 for streetscape maintenance expenses, which are paid only by property owners and tenants adjacent to the Streetscape Improvement District (SID). The SID includes certain portions of Monroe Street from 3rd Avenue to 7th Street; Adams Street from 2nd Avenue to 2nd Street; 2nd Street from Jefferson to Van Buren Streets; and 3rd Street from Monroe to Van Buren Streets.
Estimated 2023 District Budget: $4,706,256
Estimated 2023 Assessment Revenue: $4,556,256
Estimated 2023 Non-assessment Revenue: $150,000
Downtown EMSD Calendar Year 2023 Assessments
Private Property Owners Assessments: $2,074,020
Public Property Assessments: $2,482,236
Total Assessments: $4,556,256
Streetscape Maintenance Expenses (expenses included in the figures above)
Private Property Owners Assessments: $92,253
Public Property Assessments: $74,969
Total Streetscape Expenses: $167,222
Financial Impact
The City's total estimated annual expenditure for this program is $1,497,884, which includes:
• $439,108 from the General Fund (approximate $10,556 decrease from 2022);
• $626,558 from the Phoenix Convention Center;
• $150,118 from the Sports Facilities Fund;
• $10,486 from the Phoenix Bioscience Core; and
• $271,614 from collections from tenants on City-owned properties
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
This item was recommended for approval at the Economic Development and Equity Subcommittee meeting on Sept. 28, 2022, by a vote of 4-0.
On Oct. 26, 2022, the City Council approved:
• The 2023 Downtown EMSD Budget, Assessments and Set Public Hearing Date of Nov. 16, 2022 for the hearing on the estimated assessments; and
• The 2023 Downtown EMSD Assessment Diagram.
Public Outreach
On Oct. 26, 2022, the City Council set the date of Nov. 16, 2022 as the date for the public hearing on the Downtown EMSD assessments. On Oct. 26, 2022, a total of 20 days prior to the hearing as legally required, all property owners were notified by mail of their annual assessment cost by the Street Transportation and Community and Economic Development departments. In addition, DPI has sent letters to all property owners, and the Downtown EMSD Board approved the 2023 budget at its July 2022 board meeting.
To answer any questions that property owners in the Downtown EMSD might have, Community and Economic Development Department staff made themselves available virtually for an hour prior to the Nov. 16, 2022 public hearing. Notice of the public hearing was also published in the Record Reporter as specified below. No further notification is required after the public hearing.
To be published:
The Record Reporter
• Nov. 2, 2022
• Nov. 4, 2022
Location
The Downtown EMSD is generally bounded by Fillmore Street on the north, 7th Street on the east, 3rd Avenue on the west, and on the south by the railroad tracks south of Jackson Street.
Council District(s): 7 and 8
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Managers Ginger Spencer and Mario Paniagua, and the Community and Economic Development and Street Transportation departments.