Title
Public Hearing and Resolution to Approve the 2024 Downtown Enhanced Municipal Services District Assessments (Resolution 22167)
Description
Request to hold a public hearing for the approval of the 2024 Downtown Enhanced Municipal Services District (Downtown EMSD) assessments and adopt a resolution approving such assessments for the 2024 calendar year. The General Fund estimated annual expenditure for this program is $439,123.
Report
Summary
Pursuant to Arizona 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 Fillmore Street on the north, 7th Street on the east, 3rd Avenue on the west, and the railroad tracks south of Jackson Street on the south.
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) 2024 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 2024 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 on which the budget will be assessed. 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 with 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 2024 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 2024 District Budget: $4,706,256
Estimated 2024 Assessment Revenue: $4,556,256
Estimated 2024 Non-assessment Revenue: $150,000
Downtown EMSD CY 2024 Assessments
Private Property Owners Assessments: $2,073,934
Public Property Assessments: $2,482,322
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 $1,497,935, which includes:
- $439,123 from the General Fund (approximate $15 increase from 2023);
- $626,579 from the Phoenix Convention Center;
- $150,123 from the Sports Facilities Fund;
- $10,486 from the Phoenix Bioscience Core; and
- $271,623 from collections from tenants on City-owned properties.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
This item was recommended for approval at the Economic Development and Housing Subcommittee meeting on Oct. 11, 2023, by a vote of 4-0.
On Oct. 18, 2023, the City Council approved:
- The 2024 Downtown EMSD Budget, Assessments and Set Public Hearing Date of Nov. 15, 2023, for the hearing on the estimated assessments; and
- The 2024 Downtown EMSD Assessment Diagram.
Public Outreach
On Oct. 18, 2023, the City Council set the date of Nov. 15, 2023, as the date for the public hearing on the Downtown EMSD assessments. On Oct. 19, 2023, a total of 27 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 2024 budget at its May 2023 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. 15, 2023, 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. 1, 2023
- Nov. 3, 2023
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 John Chan and Alan Stephenson, and the Community and Economic Development and Street Transportation departments.