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Rules Committee backs reauthorization of Mayfair Business Improvement District for 10 years
Summary
The Committee on Rules heard testimony supporting bill 250534 to reauthorize the Mayfair Business Improvement District for an additional 10 years and voted to report the bill favorably as part of a multi-bill motion.
The Philadelphia Committee on Rules on an undetermined date heard testimony supporting bill 250534 to reauthorize the Mayfair Business Improvement District (BID) for an additional 10 years and voted to report the bill from committee with a favorable recommendation.
Philip Green, senior manager of business advocacy at the Department of Commerce, testified in support of the bill, saying the BID helped revitalize Frankford Avenue through cleaning, façade improvements and tree plantings and that a 10-year reauthorization would provide stability for longer-term projects. Donnie Smith, executive director of the Mayfair Business Improvement District, outlined programs funded by assessments, including street cleaning five days a week, tree beds and seasonal events. Board member Dana Rusikoff and other written letters of support were lodged with the committee.
Supporters told the committee the BID helped coordinate major crowds events and day-to-day corridor maintenance. Green also linked BID work to the city’s capacity to host large events and noted the BID was reauthorized in 2020 and seeks a decade-long term now to plan multi-year projects.
The committee’s final action was procedural: after adopting several individual amendments to bills on the docket, a motion was made and seconded to report a package of bills from committee with a favorable recommendation. Bill 250534 was included in that package and was reported favorably by voice vote.
No formal changes to the BID’s assessment method or specific assessment rates were made on the committee floor; proponents said the board intends to limit annual assessment increases to no more than 3 percent and projected program revenue for 2025 at approximately $4,349,000. That projection and the board’s assessment plans were presented by the BID’s executive director during testimony but were not altered by the committee.
The committee did not take additional substantive amendments specific to the BID during the meeting. The bill now moves to the full council for first reading under suspension of the rules as part of the package approved by the committee.
