The Bid: An Exploration Of The Business Improvement District And How It Relates To The City Of Beaufort

The formation of Business, Community, and Municipal Improvement Districts has become a common practice in the modern United States. What is the difference between the BID, CID, and MID and which, if any, could be beneficial to Beaufort, SC? After researching the three, it became evident that these terms are synonymous. A business improvement district, commonly referred to as a BID, is a region with specific geographic boundaries, including residential and commercial property. This specified district taxes itself an ad valorem millage rate, which is a tax based on the assessed value of the property, in order to accrue money. With this money, various improvements are made in the sectors of marketing, maintenance, security, and housing, exclusively for the businesses paying the tax. These changes provide the groundwork for economic progress and stimulate local business by promoting a business-friendly environment, and are governed by a board of business owners. In this research, tax information was collected on a set of parcels covering a large portion of the Beaufort municipality. After gathering the market values for over 500 parcels, the information was transferred to an Excel spreadsheet. Then, through sensitivity analyses, various millage rates were studied in order to analyze revenue. Finally, the increase in revenue generated by the various millage rates was examined to propose an appropriate rate of 3-5 additional mills for the Beaufort area. If the proposed BID is put in place, this research suggests it could generate significant economic growth, as it has in many other cities across the US