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Downtown BID and Visit Billings present budgets; BID keeps assessment flat for FY27
Summary
The Downtown Business Improvement District outlined its services to 1,048 properties—cleaning, safety outreach, flower baskets and events—with a proposed assessment totaling just under $589,000; Visit Billings highlighted tourism priorities and a $375,000 reserve for an air‑service grant.
Katie Schreiner, CEO of Downtown Billings, presented the Business Improvement District’s FY27 budget and explained that the board of property owners chose not to change the assessment formula this year. The BID covers services in a larger safe zone and a smaller clean zone; Schreiner said the full district contains 1,048 parcels and the total assessment revenue estimate is "just under $589,000." She described services including sidewalk sweeping, trash collection, 185 flower baskets, graffiti removal and a cooperative safety program that pairs an outreach team with police and private security.
Schreiner said the BID’s cooperative safety program diverts roughly 50 people per year from jail through outreach and social services and that the BID is partnering with Riverstone Health to bolster the outreach team. Council members raised concerns about geographic equity—what services properties south of the railroad receive—and Schreiner noted that petition/renewal materials and supporting spreadsheets were included in the packet and that the district renewal had ~80% approval.
Allie Eggert, executive director of Visit Billings, presented the tourism BID priorities and FY27 budget, underscoring investments in sports tourism, visitor experience and air service development; she noted $375,000 in reserves set aside for a Small Community Air Service Development (SCASD) grant and said Visit Billings currently counts 55 member hotels.
Why it matters: BID and tourism budgets provide services and programming that affect downtown business owners, residents and the local economy. Council members sought more detail on how services are distributed across the BID footprint and asked for reporting that shows where outreach and security calls are concentrated.
What’s next: the BID and Visit Billings will present additional URD and partnership budget details at upcoming meetings; council members asked staff to provide more granular service‑area reporting.
