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Downtown Visions says BID is privately funded; ambassadors trained not to enforce panhandling ban
Summary
Downtown Visions executive director Michael Majidi told the Wilmington intergovernmental committee on June 4 that the Downtown Business Improvement District is funded primarily by property‑owner assessments and that its street ambassadors no longer enforce panhandling or loitering rules following a consent decree.
Downtown Visions executive director Michael Majidi told the Wilmington City intergovernmental committee on June 4 that Downtown Visions manages the Downtown Business Improvement District and that the district’s regular funding comes from assessments on downtown property owners, not city general‑fund dollars.
Majidi said the assessment “covers 95% of our budget” and that the district is “privately funded, on the property owners in Downtown Wilmington.” He described the BID’s staffing and operations: the organization is authorized for 53 employees, 46 of whom are ambassadors who work downtown seven days a week; ambassadors start at $16 an hour and the organization’s average pay is $18 an hour.
The presentation outlined BID boundaries, governance and exemptions. Majidi said the BID was created by state law and a city ordinance and that “government buildings and churches are exempt…
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