Downtown BID director says $103,000 budget strained by staffing and rising costs; council signs off on yearly renewals

Carrie Hammond, director of the Idaho Falls Downtown Development Corporation, told the council the BID’s revenue and expenditures are each about $103,000 this year and that roughly 60% of the budget goes to beautification and related city‑supported services. Hammond said staffing is thin and that she and her operations manager are currently “doing the work of four people,” creating sustainability challenges for operations funded by the BID.

Hammond said the BID is prioritizing downtown branding, merchant recruitment and retention, and infrastructure work such as alley power line upgrades, paver repair and parking lot maintenance. She described recent shifts to secure more sponsorships for events after a $20,000 annual sponsor cancelled and said the DDC has moved several administrative processes online to improve efficiency.

The council discussed details of the BID’s funding structure. Hammond and other DDC leaders said the BID is currently calculated using a past assessment year and property values (2007), which reduces the revenue available as assessed values rise over time. She noted the requirement that BID renewal must be approved by a majority of property‑owner signatures and recalled a prior failed increase. Hammond said the DDC will be preparing materials to educate property owners ahead of the 2027 renewal.

Councilors asked technical questions about whether property values or the mill rate can be changed at renewal and how often the DDC has proposed increases. The DDC treasurer explained that previous renewals kept the same mill rate in response to county tax increases at the time.

On parking, the DDC reported that monthly permit income for downtown lots contributes to overall parking revenue of roughly $288,000 annually (from permits and citations). Permit costs have not changed recently; Hammond said most DDC‑managed lots charge $40 per permit (with one lot at $50). She said a reconstituted downtown parking advisory group — with representation from the city, county and merchants — will coordinate future work and that larger policy choices will be revisited after the BID renewal.

Council members asked for additional IPS/parking‑data reporting to better measure block‑level occupancy and to inform decisions about meters or other demand management. Hammond said the IPS reporting tool is robust and that staff will investigate options for historic occupancy data. The council asked staff and DDC to coordinate with the city attorney on the formal BID MOU and the parking‑management agreement to ensure legal and procedural compliance.

At the meeting the DDC confirmed a request to renew the BID MOU and the city’s parking management agreement for another year; council and staff agreed to handle the formal renewals in the coming weeks with legal review and a 90‑day notice process for the next renewal window.