by Dora Boubolis
The Downtown Improvement District (DID) is a proposed special tax assessment district intended to raise eighty thousand dollars to provide a steady funding stream for the current disignated downtown organization Building a Better Brattleboro (BaBB). The money will cover one employee’s salary as well as administrative costs. This will then enable BaBB to secure federal and state grant money to be used in building improvements and downtown projects. BaBB and town officials would like everyone to view this as just a funding mechanism to meet specifications in the state statute and that it will only effect the community in a positive manner.
Because I was a candidate for Town Meeting Representative, in the weeks leading up to March first, I received several letters from prominent citizens of the community promoting the Downtown Improvement District and asking for my support. I had no idea what the DID was and I wondered how such a large issue could have slipped under my radar, after all I’m politically active and involved. These letters gave me a very unsettled feeling and rasied a lot of questions. After attending the information meeting presented by BaBB, my watch dog barometer went way up.
My initial research began with asking the people whom I know, a relatively diverse group of extremely politically aware people. Most of them knew no more about and usually much less than I. This grew into several days of canvassing downtown businesses and residents on the issue. Each person with whom I spoke raised more questions and expressed new concerns. What concerned me the most though was the numbers of people who knew little or nothing about the subject. BaBB did a very good job of courting propoerty owners who were well-versed on the subject, but almost everyone else was left in the dark. I found very few people in favor of it, and many of those who were, demonstrated very soft support.
I will focus on some of the most prevalent questions. First, does it have to be done through a tax assessmet district? No, there are number of different methods allowed for funding the downtown organization, which include making it a line item in the town budget, securing private funding and using various combinations. This is how BaBB chose to do it.
Does Building a Better Brattleboro have to be the designated downtown organization? Whlie BaBB has fulfilled this role for several years, any organization specifically geared to downtown could be used, as long as the standards and criteria spelled out in the statute are met.
How much taxpayer money is being wasted in excessive public works projects? One of the major reasons expressed by downtown businesses for not supporting the DID was the fact that they view the River Garden as a boondoggle and they want to see that problem solved before they pour any more money into BaBB. They also complained that the planned project for donut park was too large scale and all that we really needed was some grass, trees, and benches. When Brattleboro uses up public funds, other towns, which may desperately need the funds lose. We all know that taxes are rising and federal funds are drying up so every cent counts.
Will this speed up what many see as the gentrification of downtown Brattleboro? Urban renewal can be done in many ways, some of which serve to improve a neighborhood while benefiting the whole community. Others can destroy the very fabric of that community, but bring in large profits for the landowners. If public funds are used to increase the value of the buildings without including protections for residents, non-profits, and small businesses, could rents rise to a level too high for current tenants to afford? In turn, will this decrease the diversity of the residential population and businesses making downtown less accessible to the majority of citizens? BaBB and the town have both consistently dismissed the issue of gentrification and the proposed guiding ordinance lacks specifics.
Does BaBB really represent everyone? A resident commented that the only time BaBB ever showed any concern for the residents was after the Wilder Building fire. However, when Loretta Palazzo of the store Boomerang organized fundraising efforts to help the victims of the fire, she was told she would be charged full price for the benefit they held in the River Garden. After appealing to one of the board members, that cost was eventually dropped, but she was still asked to put up three hundred dollars for the deposit. Betsy Gentile at the Chamber of Commerce, who helped with planning, covered the cost. These bureaucratic hoops added a lot of stress to the process for someone who was just trying to help people.
The Literary Festival is billed as one of the newer town events. I remember at the time of the first festival, being very surprised to learn from the folks at Everyone’s Books that they were not involved in the planning and did not even find out about it until a few weeks before the event. I thought it made no sense that one of the major sources of literature in this town was not included. Now BaBB will say that the festival was not their project. At the time, I excused it because I thought it was just one woman, but she was and perhaps still is a vice president of BaBB.
This event is now promoted, by both BaBB and the town, as a major draw for tourists. Folowing complaints by Everyone’s Books and other bookstores they were ‘allowed’ to participate. However, the exclusion continued because they kept being given incorrect information about committee meeting times. This past year all of the bookstores got together and asked permission to divide the books by participating authors evenly so that they could all share in the sales.
While the ordinance expands the BaBB membership beyond property owners (as originally proposed) all will be required to pay a membership fee of up to $40. Yes, this is a small amount of money for some, but it totally negates the fact that tenants wil pay the tax that is considered the membership fee for property owners through their rent. If the state can tell all renters what portion of their rent is property tax, then why can’t BaBB. It is highly unlikely that low-income residents will be able or willing to pay this fee. This coupled with the fact that the power structure, the board, will remain in the control of certain property owners, creates a risk that the orgainzation will have ony hollow support from the larger community. This is after all the current situation with BaBB right now as its membership routinely ignores emails because they are dissatisfied with the people in charge.
Isn’t there a conflict of interest between members of the Selectboard and the board of BaBB? There is certainly a clear conflict of interest on the part of Greg Worden who is a downtown property and business owner, as well as one of the founders of BaBB. He has participated in the negotiations between BaBB, the Selectboard, and town officers, although he did, however reluctantly, recuse himself when they voted the first time.
Why was this idea not brought before the public arena from its inception, allowing a broad spectrum of people to provide input? Building a Better Brattleboro, a private organization very strongly connected to business and the Selectboard, was given carte blanche to make these decisions behind closed doors. This is a planning issue and an independent committee under the auspices of the Planning Commission should have been set up to provide public scrutiny.
Legally, the Selectboard was under no obligation to do any more than they did. If they neglected to seek public opinion, it is because the citizens of Brattleboro have opted for complacency and relinquished control of local governance. While it can sometimes be boring and often frustrating to sit through Selectboard meetings, it is of vital importance to democratic process to let the leadership know that someone is paying attention to what they are doing. They need to know that the public will challenge them when they disagree, as well as providing support when in agreement. Whether you like those in public office or not, they have demonstrated a willingness to vounteer an inordinate amount of their time and to open themselves up to public criticism.
The question is not whether Building a Better Brattleboro has done things that benefit downtown or whether some members of BaBB do have the best interests of the whole community in mind. It is about who is really in control of the organization. As is the case in most places those with money and large businesses wield a lot of power and they often garner public sentiment for their own self interest over what is best for the town. What this ordinance does is simple. It legalized and institutionalizes that imbalance of power, with only the Selectboard as oversight. It gives them access and control over public funds, which will then be used to acquire more public funds, which will be used to increase the value of their properties which will then allow them tax deductions affecting more public funds.
Most of us want to support our downtown, but we also want to have a voice in developing a vision. If people like neither the players, nor the rules, then they are less likely to join in the game. Rather than rushing to judgement and accepting the status quo, we need to go back to the drawing board, increase public process and create something that works for everyone. This requires a serious debate about public versus private spaces and individual needs versus the public good. The result must reflect the interdependence of property owners, tenants and the community as a whole.
We need a truly democratic organization that gives equal representation to all sectors of the community. This includes property owners, businesses, residents, the arts community, non-profits and all those who use downtown as a place to shop, meet, and play. The higher the level of participation in the organization the greater the wealth of creative ideas which can be used to strengthen and build community.
It is time to stop complaining and start getting involved in civics. We can do very little right now about George Bush or Congress, but we can work together to make a difference locally. Democracy is difficult, messy, time cnosuming work. If you are concerned about this issue, please come to the Selectboard meeting, Tuesday June 7 at 6:15pm. Let them know you’re out there, ask questions, or make a statement. This is your last chance before the Selectboard votes -- immediately following the public hearing.