West Bend BID reviews 2026 operating plan; keeps $10,000 marketing budget, adds small decoration and plant funding

The West Bend City Business Improvement District Board met in a special session Tuesday, Aug. 26, to continue a review of the BIDs draft operating plan for 2026, including marketing, holiday lighting and decorations, facade grants, landscaping, and water-metered irrigation previously assigned to the BID.

The meeting focused on how the BID will allocate roughly $113,000 to $114,000 in assessment revenue next year and where limited undesignated reserves should be used. "Our estimate is working with about a $113,000," said the staff member presenting the budget breakdown, who led the meeting's detailed review.

Why this matters: The BID budget funds downtown maintenance, decorations, small grants to businesses and nonprofit partners, and programs intended to attract visitors and customers. Board decisions on the marketing line, decorative lighting and small grants affect how the district presents itself and how scarce reserve funds are used.

Board discussion and near-term decisions

Board members and staff discussed several line items in detail. The board indicated it wants to keep the marketing budget at $10,000 for 2026; the presenter said about $1,000 of this year's $10,000 had already been spent. Board members said they want clearer objectives for how that marketing money would be used (public-facing ads, promotion through the downtown association, workshops to help merchants with displays or social media, or a partnership allocation to the Downtown Association).

On holiday lighting and decorations, staff estimated current-year spending would be about $21,000 and projected roughly $22,500 for 2026 if the program is unchanged. The presenter described a brief multi-year forecast that applied a 5% escalation where precise long-term costs are not yet fixed.

Board members agreed to set aside a small line item for ornament replacement (the presenter proposed $2,000) to avoid a large single-year capital hit later. Members also favored adding winter-themed snowflake lighting for portions of Main Street during January and February rather than removing all seasonal fixtures after Christmas. The presenter said an initial estimate for adding snowflake decorations would be higher than wreath replacement; the group instructed staff to budget and refine cost estimates for both options.

Facade grants and donations

The board reviewed the facade grant program, which the presenter said had a $30,000 allocation in the adopted budget this year. The presenter also said some previously awarded facade funds were not spent and returned to the BIDs available balance; the presenter did not specify the returned amount. The board discussed continuing to try to get those funds awarded to viable projects.

Roots and Branches, the nonprofit that maintains some downtown planters and perennial beds, requested additional operating support. The presenter summarized that Roots and Branches had roughly $971 in the adopted budget last fall, actual expenditures around $1,137 this year, and had asked for about $1,990 for the coming year. The board agreed that a modest increase was reasonable and signaled support for the request.

Water meters and billing

During reconstruction of parts of downtown, three water meters and spigots were added to support plant watering; the presenter said the city assigned the resulting metered bills to the BID. The presenter explained the state regulations that govern water and sewer utilities require meters to be associated with an account that pays for use; that requirement contributed to the decision to have the BID cover those meters. The presenter described a minimum base charge of $539 for having a meter available and an annualized estimate of roughly $800 for Roots and Branches metered water use in a typical, relatively wet year, while cautioning that a very dry season could raise that cost.

Undesignated reserves and next steps

The presenter said the BID's undesignated fund balance was about $103,000 going into the discussion, but that after the incremental decoration and Roots and Branches additions the amount the board had planned to add to future-projects savings for 2026 would be reduced. Board members asked staff to prepare two budget columns for the next meeting: one that reflects the additions discussed at the Aug. 26 session and a second that shows smaller adjustments to maintain more of the usual transfer to undesignated savings.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of minutes from the regular meeting of Aug. 7, 2025: motion made and seconded; approved by voice vote (aye). The meeting transcript does not record member names for the motion and second.

- Motion to adjourn: motion made and seconded; approved by voice vote (aye). The meeting transcript does not record member names for the motion and second.

Whats next

Staff said it will return a tightened budget package and two comparison columns at the board's next meeting so members can see the impact of the decoration and Roots and Branches adjustments on undesignated reserves and future-projects savings.

Speakers quoted in this article are named in the meeting record as "Staff member (presenter)" or as board members; where the transcript did not provide a full name, this article attributes comments to the role shown in the meeting record.