Downtown BID presents balanced FY26 budget and names incoming president

Downtown Topeka’s Business Improvement District (BID) presented a status update and a proposed balanced FY26 budget to the Topeka City Council on June 17, and the interim BID president said the board has prioritized clean-and-safe initiatives and strengthened merchant outreach.

Sean Dixon, interim president of Downtown Topeka, told the council the BID’s FY26 budget is balanced at about $180,000 in revenue and expenses after cleaning up invoicing and removing unallocated contingency. "You're looking at $180,000 budget with $180,000 worth of expenses, a balanced approach," Dixon said. He described the budget as conservative and focused on maintenance, programming, beautification and safety work.

Dixon credited recent outreach to merchants and coordination with law enforcement and the Rescue Mission for progress on downtown public-safety and cleanliness efforts, and he noted the Rescue Mission now holds a seat on the downtown board. "One of the most important outcomes of these conversations has been a prioritization of our clean and safe initiatives in downtown," he said.

Dixon also told the council he has been serving as interim president since August and that the organization has hired Andrew Holt as the next president of Downtown Topeka. Holt is expected to start in July and will come from a downtown program in Lawrence.

Council members thanked Dixon and BID staff for rebuilding relationships with merchants and for bringing back grant programs to support reinvestment in historic buildings. No formal council action was taken; the presentation was informational.