by PETER KASPARI – Daily Freeman-Journal
The Webster City Council moved one step closer to renewing the Downtown Webster City Self-Supported Municipal Improvement District at a public meeting Monday.
The board approved the first reading of an ordinance continuing the SSMID for another 10 years. Councilman Brian Miller was absent from the otherwise unanimous vote.
Bill Greenley, SSMID chairman, briefly went over the history of the district and explained that it comes up for renewal every 10 years.
The SSMID was established 10 years ago after the downtown area was rebuilt. “At that time, SSMID was formed so that folks who owned property downtown would be the ones who would pay for some of the improvements,” Greenley said. Some of those improvements have included plant pots, mulch pits, benches, trash recepticles and Christmas lights.
Greenley explained that there’s a higher tax on downtown property owners so that these improvements can be supported financially. This saves the taxpayers money, he said. “In other words, downtown property owners pay for those things instead of having it come through you, the city as a whole, and property tax-payers citywide,” he said.
The city did not receive any objections to the SSMID being continued.
The SSMID is within the 500, 600 and 700 blocks of Second Street, one block south on Wilson Avenue, Seneca and Des Moines streets, and a half block north on Willson, Seneca and Des Moines.
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Last modified: January 29, 2019