Title
Public Hearing and Resolution to Approve the 2021 Downtown Enhanced Municipal Services District Assessments (Resolution 21880)
Description
Request to hold a public hearing for the approval of the 2021 Downtown Enhanced Municipal Services District (Downtown EMSD) assessments and adopt a resolution approving such assessments for the 2021 calendar year. The General Fund estimated annual expenditure for this program is $339,491.
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’s 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 2021 provides a variety of enhanced services in the downtown core, including the Ambassadors program, streetscape improvements and maintenance, the Clean Team program, marketing, event promotion, business assistance and transportation services.
The annual assessments for the Downtown EMSD will be levied for the 2021 calendar year 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 2021 Downtown EMSD budget of $3,622,705. This includes $140,684 for streetscape maintenance expenses, which are paid only by property owners and tenants adjacent to the Streetscape Improvement District, as shown below.
Downtown EMSD Calendar Year 2021 Assessments
Private Property Owners Assessments: $1,675,941
Public Property Assessments: $1,986,764
Total Assessments: $3,662,705
Streetscape Maintenance Expenses (expenses included in the figures above)
Private Property Owners Assessments: $81,795
Public Property Assessments: $58,889
Total Streetscape Expenses: $140,684
Financial Impact
The City's total estimated annual expenditure for this program is $1,197,007, which includes:
- $339,491 from the General Fund (which represents an approximately $37,679 decrease from 2020);
- $503,959 from the Phoenix Convention Center;
- $120,379 from the Sports Facilities Fund;
- $8,409 from the Genomics Facilities Operations and Maintenance Fund; and
- $224,771 from collections from tenants on City-owned properties.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
The Workforce and Economic Development Subcommittee recommended for approval:
- The Work Plan and Budget on Sept. 23, 2020, by a vote of 3-1.
The City Council approved:
- The 2021 Downtown EMSD Estimate of Expenses, Assessment of Expense and set the Public Hearing Date of Nov. 18, 2020 for the hearing on the estimated assessments (Resolution 21871) on Oct. 21, 2020; and
- The 2021 Downtown EMSD Assessment Diagram (Resolution 21872) on Oct. 21, 2020.
Public Outreach
On Oct. 21, 2020, the City Council set the date of Nov. 18, 2020 as the date for the public hearing on the Downtown EMSD assessments. On Oct. 22, 2020, a total of 27 days prior to the hearing, which is greater than the legally required 20 days, all property owners were notified by mail of their annual assessment cost by the Street Transportation and Community and Economic Development departments. In addition to the budget and work plan recommended by the Workforce and Economic Development Subcommittee on Sept. 23, 2020, DPI has sent letters to all property owners, and the Downtown EMSD Board approved the 2021 budget at its June 2020 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. 18, 2020 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.
Revised published dates: The Record Reporter
- Oct. 28, 2020
- Oct. 30, 2020
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 Districts: 7 and 8
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Managers Jeff Barton and Mario Paniagua, and the Community and Economic Development and Street Transportation departments.