CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Pass the ordinance establishing Special Service Area No. 33 for downtown maintenance and marketing services to replace expiring Special Service Area No. 26
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DEPARTMENT: Finance Department
SUBMITTED BY: Rachel Mayer, Finance Department
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
In 1970, the Illinois Constitution Convention granted municipalities and counties the authority:
"to levy or impose additional taxes upon areas within their boundaries in the manner provided by law for the provision of special services to those areas and for the payment of debt incurred in order to provide those special services."
The establishment of a Special Service Area (SSA) is controlled by the Special Service Area Tax Law (35 ILCS 200-27-5 et seq.) and defined as "a contiguous area within a municipality in which special governmental services are provided in addition to those services provided generally throughout the municipality, the cost of the special services to be paid from revenues collected from taxes levied or imposed upon property within that area."
Naperville has utilized SSAs since 1976 to pay for a variety of functions including the provision of free parking in the downtown (SSA No. 1), the payment of debt service (SSA No. 21 - Van Buren Parking Garage), and the maintenance and marketing of the downtown (SSA No. 17, 20, 22, 24, and 26). At this time, SSA No. 26 pays for the maintenance and marketing of the Central Business District and will expire in 2020.
Services are paid for by using a formula developed in 2000, whereby the maintenance services are 2/3 funded by the City through the General Fund and 1/3 funded by the property owners through the special assessment. In addition to the 1/3 maintenance cost, the City levies a marketing component for the Downtown Naperville Alliance (DNA) funded 100% by the property owners. SSA No. 26 was created in 2015 and will expire in 2020.
Staff recommends the creation o...
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