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Council debates transparency after Business Improvement District seeks transfer to Riverwalk District
Summary
Council members questioned a proposed transfer of BID funds to the Kiel Riverwalk District, saying budget documents lack itemization and the BID’s agreement may have expired; members asked for further meetings and clearer reporting before approving ongoing general-fund matches.
Council members on an unnamed date questioned a proposed transfer of Business Improvement District (BID) funds to the Kiel Riverwalk District and raised concerns about transparency and the BID’s budget accounting.
Council members said the BID board asked to transfer funds to the Riverwalk District, with one staff comment noting a requested transfer of $8,000 and later references in the discussion to a transfer of $88,000. "The Kiel Riverwalk District had requested ... a total of $8,000 in funds to the KRWD," a city staff member said, while other remarks later referenced "transfer of $88,000 of funds to the Riverwalk District." The council did not resolve the discrepancy during the discussion.
Several council members said the BID budget materials did not itemize expenditures clearly. "My understanding was that the BID budget was supposed to specifically itemize where that money was being spent," one council member said. Another member added, "This format doesn't make any sense to me. I should be able to follow it much more clearly." Council members said the Riverwalk District is a separate entity and that past agreements setting tax-match commitments may have expired.
Councilmembers expressed concern that the Riverwalk District did not post its budget to the city and that the BID's original five-year agreement appears not to have been formally renewed. One council member recommended requiring the Riverwalk budget as an addendum to future BID submissions so the council can review both sets of expenditures together. The council liaison said she would reach out to BID chair Crystal and Riverwalk chair Jamie Dameron to arrange a meeting with council leadership.
No formal motion to approve or deny a transfer was recorded during the discussion. One council member said they would not approve the transfer as presented and suggested tabling action until clearer documentation could be provided; another said there was "nothing to table" because no formal motion had been made.
Council members asked staff to follow up with the BID and Riverwalk District and to provide clearer, itemized budget materials before any transfer of tax dollars is approved.
