Title
Pay Invoices for 2026 Downtown Enhanced Municipal Services District (Ordinance S-52382) - Districts 7 & 8
Description
Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to pay all invoices received from Downtown Phoenix, Inc. (DPI) through the Phoenix Downtown Enhanced Municipal Services District (EMSD) Agreement, in an amount not to exceed $4,990,953 for work related to the calendar year 2026 Downtown EMSD budget and work plan through December 31, 2026. Further request to authorize the City Treasurer to accept, and the City Controller to disburse, all funds related to this item.
Report
Summary
The City Council authorized 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 City contracts directly with DPI to implement the work program of the Downtown EMSD, including the Ambassadors program, streetscape improvements and maintenance, the Clean Team program, marketing, event promotion, business assistance, and transportation services. Pursuant to State law, the Downtown EMSD's budget must be approved each year. This action is the final step in the annual budget process to authorize the Community and Economic Development Department to pay DPI for services rendered in calendar year 2026 under the Downtown EMSD contract.
Financial Impact
The City's total estimated annual expenditure for this program is $2,825,620, which includes:
- $452,017 from the General Fund (approximate $8,628 increase from 2025);
- $665,747 from the Phoenix Convention Center;
- $159,804 from the Sports Facilities Fund;
- $66,042 from the Phoenix Bioscience Core;
- $1,192,869 as a pass-through from other government-owned properties including Maricopa County, Maricopa County Stadium District and the State of Arizona; and
- $289,141 collected as a pass-through from tenants on City-owned properties.
The remaining $2,165,333 of funds are collected from private property owners through an assessment on their property tax bills.
Estimated 2025 District Budget: $5,240,953
Estimated 2025 Assessment Revenue: $4,990,953
Estimated 2025 Non-assessment Revenue: $250,000
In preparation for remitting the first payment by January 1, 2026, the Community and Economic Development Department request the advance term as December 1, 2025, to December 31, 2026, to prepare for implementation. Funding is available in the Community and Economic Development Department's Operating budget.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
This item was recommended for approval at the Economic Development and the Arts Subcommittee meeting on September 10, 2025, by a vote of 3-0.
On October 15, 2025, the City Council approved:
- The 2026 Downtown EMSD Budget, Assessments and Set Public Hearing Date of November 5, 2025 for the hearing on the estimated assessments; and
- The 2026 Downtown EMSD Assessment Diagram.
Public Outreach
On October 15, 2025, the City Council set the date of November 5, 2025, as the date for the public hearing on the Downtown EMSD assessments. On October 15, 2025, a total of 21 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 sent letters to all property owners, and the Downtown EMSD Board approved the 2026 budget at its June 2025 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 November 5, 2025, public hearing. Notice of the public hearing was also published in the Record Reporter on October 22, 2025 and October 24, 2025. No further notification is required after the public hearing.
Location
The Downtown EMSD is generally bounded by Garfield 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 City Manager Jeffrey Barton, Deputy City Manager John Chan and the Street Transportation and Community and Economic Development departments.