Updated 6/14/2010
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A Business Improvement District (BID) is a public/private sector partnership that performs a variety of services to promote a business district (see Code below.) Authorized under California law and adopted and operated by the local business community, a BID levies annual assessments on businesses within its boundaries. The BID is managed by the local business community through the establishment of an advisory board. 100% of the collected funds are committed to the BID's activities.
The mission for the BID being proposed for Idyllwild is to assist business owners in organizing their efforts to increase tourism revenues. In Idyllwild this includes most businesses, even those that do not directly market to tourists, as they may depend on indirect tourism revenue to sustain their operations (i.e. home rentals, gas and propane, food markets, restaurants, etc.)
In general terms, BID services may include, but are not limited to:
The Idyllwild Business Improvement District is a business organization, dedicated to improving tourism, enhancing the Idyllwild business environment by providing opportunities, service, information, and encouraging businesses to work together for their collective best interest.s
These forums are intended to bring our business community up to speed on a possible Idyllwild Business Improvement District. IDY4U.com has invited representatives from local BIDs and the County to discuss the process, the benefits, the pitfalls and the technicalities of forming and operating a BID.
These meetings are important! Please commit to attending all four.
The meetings start at 6:30 p.m. at the Caine Learning Center, 54385 Pine Crest Avenue, Idyllwild. Doors open at 6 p.m. Come early and network!
Wednesday, May 19 -The Temecula Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau
Thursday, May 27 - Main Street, Palm Springs
Wednesday, June 9 - Palm Springs Desert Resort Communities Convention and Visitors Authority
Updated 8/10/2010 Wednesday, August 25 - Teresa Gallavan, Marketing & Cultural Services Manager,
Riverside County Economic Development Agency
PART 7. PROPERTY AND BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT LAW OF 1994
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Declarations 36600-36604
Article 2. Definitions 36606-36616
Article 3. Prior Law 36617
CHAPTER 2. ESTABLISHMENT 36620-36630
CHAPTER 3. ASSESSMENTS 36631-36637
CHAPTER 3.5. FINANCING 36640
CHAPTER 4. GOVERNANCE 36650-36651
CHAPTER 5. RENEWAL 36660
CHAPTER 6. DISESTABLISHMENT 36670-36671
Email questions to idybid@idy4u.com. Questions sent to this forum may be reprinted and may include the sender's name. No other contact information will be published.
Q: I don't like the idea of "more tax" being assessed to the lodging customers to the hill for the purpose of advertising to all potential visitors to the hill. I feel that restaurant owners and shopkeepers want tourist business to increase as much as any of us, but their customers will not be footing any of this extra burden. Their customers pay 8.75% tax now on food & trinkets, and ours pay 10%. It's already inequitable.
A: Actually, a Business Improvement District can be set up in any way we choose, and it has been strongly suggested to us by other Business Districts that we DO INCLUDE all register sale for retail and restaurant purchases to be added to the bed assessment, so it is more equitable this way. It also gives us more funds to promote Idyllwild through ”Targeted Tourism”.
Q: The county ALREADY collects 10% from each innkeeper and in most areas that are incorporated, a portion of that comes back to the town to use for advertising. Not in our case because we are "unincorporated". To me, that is not fair, and I would rather see energy put into making that situation equitable, whatever that takes. Although I do realize that once a tax gets assesed, it's EXTREMELY DIFFICULT to change it in any way shape or form.
A: It took me awhile to understand this whole TOT tax thing, after hearing from other surrounding communities. While it’s true that the TOT taxes go into the general fund and a portion is returned to incorporated areas, there is some discretion that county Supervisors have as to how much of those funds are returned, even to unincorporated areas. Actually, as the folks from the Palm Springs area explained to me, their Supervisor became much more generous with returning more of their TOT to them after they formed a Business Improvement District, because an organized system like a BID is more likely to achieve their intended promotional goals than just giving money to a community and hoping something good gets accomplished. Remember, it’s in the county’s best interest, too, because as sales increase, so do the tax revenues generated by those sales.
Q: No matter what we do with the money collected, there will be people who disagree with how it is spent and allocated to the different advertising modes. Magazine ads, billboards, brochures, etc. It happens with the Chamber's money and it's going to happen with this money, I fear.
A: This is exactly why we need a Business Improvement District, so we can have the funds to consult with EXPERTS in the field who can help us target our efforts to get the ideal “Idyllwild tourist” we all want. Ideally, if we generate enough funds, we could hire our own marketing director, or perhaps share one with another community, with this marketing director being experienced in how to best target our funds to bring up the kind of tourist we’re looking for. This is the “Targeted Tourism” concept where our advertising efforts are aimed at specifics groups and subgroups to get the kind of tourist we would like to see in Idyllwild. And this is exactly why we need experienced, expert advice that only a BID can afford.
Q: I am not a big fan of advertising. I believe in running your business in the best way you know how, getting ideas and tips from other successful businesses, and basically just being nice, so people will spread the word and want to come back. That may be naive of me, but that is basically my philosophy.
A: I know what you mean, as some months we advertise heavily and other months not at all, and it’s sometimes hard to tell the difference. And you’re right, your business’s success is more dependent upon your personal efforts and interactions than advertising alone. However, how many times have you told someone you’re from Idyllwild and they say, “Idyllwild, where’s that?”. Here’s the problem: we are on a decaying orbit, to use NASA terminology. In a decaying orbit in space, the slower you go, the more you encounter drag from the earth’s atmosphere, which only slows your speed more, causing you to descend even further into the atmosphere until you eventually burn up and crash to earth. Idyllwild is on a similar decaying spiral, as when tourists come to Idyllwild and find more and more shuttered shops, they will tell their friends there is no point in visiting a “ghost town” and they will choose someplace else to visit, which results in even more businesses closing their doors. This discourages even more people from visiting Idyllwild, which causes even more businesses to close, and on and on it goes until we truly do have so little to offer that even the “old timers” won’t want to visit. Preventing further decay from occurring is beneficial to the mutual interest of us all.
Incidentally, seeing trends midstream is often how people get rich; Joseph Kennedy saw the potential for a major stock market crash in the 1920’s because of the wild speculation going on, so he divested himself of stocks and invested in real estate……he saw it coming. We’re clearly showing a worrisome trend, and it’s one that could reach a critical mass that we won’t be able to reverse unless we take proactive steps now, before it’s too late.
Q: I have had a LOT of experience with the County, and I know they do NOT do anything for free. This is a money making endeavor for them. They will most likely collect a fee, and it may be reasonable and it may not, but they will make money from administering this collection of taxes from us. I am a proponent of LESS government, not more, and I see this as more government and their hand in my cookie jar.
A: The agency collecting the assessments usually take a small percentage to cover administrative overhead. It is the intent of an idyllwild BID to have this fee waived for the first years of the BID.
Meeting Rules
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