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University Hill budget preview: interest income buoyed 2024, capital projects to draw down fund balance in 2025
Summary
City staff presented a 2026 budget preview for the University Hill General Improvement District showing higher-than-expected investment income in 2024, modest revenue growth, and a sizable planned capital outlay in 2025 (streetscapes and Broadway median) that will reduce fund balance.
Elliot Vivanti, Business Services Senior Manager for Community Vitality, presented a 2026 budget preview to the University Hill Commercial Area Management Commission on May 6.
Vivanti said there are "not a lot of changes for UJID" in the 2026 outlook but cautioned that a planned capital investment this year will materially reduce the district's fund balance. He said the district ended 2024 with higher-than-projected investment earnings (interest income rose about 58% over projections) and that total expenses were lower than forecast, leaving a slightly higher ending fund balance for 2024 than anticipated.
Why it matters: The University Hill General Improvement District (UJID) relies on a mix of property tax revenue, parking revenue and transfers; Vivanti said interest income has become the largest single source of funds in recent reporting and helped offset weaker parking and property-tax receipts.
Key budget points Vivanti presented: - 2024 investment income outperformed expectations and was a major revenue source, larger in dollar terms than parking revenue and property taxes combined. Vivanti noted that higher interest income is not a long-term guarantee if fund balances decline. - The 2025 capital program includes a substantial investment for Hill streetscapes and a Broadway median project; the spending is expected to reduce the district’s fund balance in 2025 before normalizing in later years. - Property-assessment reassessments and state-level changes are potential headwinds; Vivanti said some property assessments decreased in 2025, which lowers future property-tax revenue. - A modest increase in projected expenses was included as part of a cautious 3% inflation assumption for long-term forecasts; staff also recommended realignment of underspent and overspent line items.
Vivanti also noted a roughly $70,000 bucket from the 2017 culture-and-creative-sales-tax appropriation (CCS 2017) that remains earmarked for the Hill and is being considered for a public-art project. Staff said the public-art allocation would follow the city's public-art procurement policy and community engagement process.
Commissioners discussed revenue sources, concern about relying on interest income, and potential strategies including strategic investments to generate returns on fund dollars or pursuing larger governance tools (e.g., a DDA) under separate agenda items. Vivanti said staff is evaluating options and will return with a proposed budget for commission recommendation in July.
