Downtown Improvement District seeks three-year reauthorization; proposes modest assessment increases and boundary tweak

Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. presented the Downtown Improvement District’s proposed operating plan for 2027–2029 and asked the City Commission to set a public record for reauthorization.

Melvin Ellis, director of operations for Downtown Grand Rapids Inc., told commissioners the DID provides “cleaning, flower planting, trash removal” and other place-management services that supplement but do not replace city functions. He said the DID’s funding formula assigns 30% weight to land area, 30% to building square footage, 30% to parcel frontage and 10% to parking, with residential property owners paying a $120 annual flat rate and nonprofits receiving a 40% reduction.

Ellis said the DID recommends a 3% area-wide assessment increase in fiscal 2027 to support an operating budget of about $1.5 million, and indicated the plan allows annual increases up to a 4% ceiling in FY28 and FY29 tied to state inflation rates. He also proposed expanding DID boundaries to include the newly constructed amphitheater and said staff are working to add one West Side parcel after a late request from a property owner. He said the snowmelt assessment for properties that pay only for snowmelt would remain flat across the three years.

Commissioners pressed staff on how DID services would be distributed as downtown venues come online, and whether ambassadors and other services would reach neighborhoods equitably. Commissioner Nusauce thanked the developer outreach and neighborhood engagement and said she appreciated efforts to engage residents. Commissioner Knight asked specifically how ambassadors would protect residents’ belongings and how DID would partner on dignity-preserving services for unhoused residents. Ellis said DID typically deploys extra ambassadors and additional hours for big events and that it divides the district into subdistricts that are cleaned daily.

Residents at the public hearing raised operational concerns and local priorities. Scott Atchison, a 3rd Ward resident, urged creation of a downtown information center and questioned how ambassador staffing contractors are paid relative to billing rates. “They make $15 an hour, the ambassadors, but they’re billed out over $21 an hour,” he said, asking the commission to re-examine contracts. Several commenters urged DID and the commission to consider affordable housing and equitable distribution of assessments across the city.

The commission closed the hearing and referred the DID operating plan and special-assessment proposal to the Committee of the Whole for further review.