No BID 4 Boonton
No BID 4 Boonton!
Recently, an advisory board to explore the creation of a BID in Boonton’s Historic Downtown Shopping district was formed without notification to every property owner, renter and business owner in that proposed district. A BID IS TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION, and the fact that an advisory board was formed without first reaching out to the entire business community to invite involvement is extremely disappointing. The board itself is problematic for other reasons. Comprised ENTIRELY of white men, the board completely disregards the diversity of Boonton’s Main Street business community. By our best estimates, nearly half of all Main Street businesses are owned at least in part by women, and at least 1/4 of our businesses are owned by people of color. Why the lack of diversity on the board? If the goal is to cultivate success, wouldn’t it make the most sense to create a board that reflects the faces and experiences of the community it claims to represent?
The stealth momentum with which the advisory board was form suggests that the town council is not open to recognizing the changed face of Boonton’s Main Street. Gone are the sleepy days of rows of antique stores cookie-cutter boutiques- Boonton’s Main Street is a vibrant downtown filled with micro galleries, ethnic foods that let you travel the globe in 3/4 of a mile, art studios, boutiques and cafes that pay homage to the eclectic wild spirits that built their businesses.
If this is about supporting our small businesses during this period of economic uncertainty, the are better ways that do not involve burdening the business owners with additional expenses that they have no voice in and cannot opt out of.
Beyond that, there are concerns about who would be an awarded direction of a BID if it were formed. Management of a BID should not be awarded to BMS or any its managing board members, they have failed to help the businesses in any meaningful way. For 20 years, they have been awarded funds meant to revitalize the business district, but as a volunteer based organization, they lack the knowledge base or professional experience to implement effective advertising or supports of the businesses resulting in the waste of tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars. Business owners have been working together independently of BMS to find ways to get people engaged and bring new faces into our shopping district, and have done so in ways that are innovative, cost effective, collaborative and highlight the changing face of Boonton’s Downtown shopping district.
BMS has succeeded in raising the rents of both the commercial and residential tenants along Main Street; the facade grant program upped our curb appeal, but the mismanagement of BMS regarding advertising our business district meant that while we put our best foot forward, there has been little increases in foot traffic. Coupled with the town’s tax reassessments of ALL properties in Boonton, the costs of doing business in Boonton have increased. Asking us now to give even more in the form of “special fees” after two years of managing increased costs of goods, evolving tariff laws, supply chain issues and rapid inflation is both callous and tone deaf.
Finding a way forward should be done in a manner that respects the hard work, expertise and commitments of every small business owner on Main Street, not the agenda of politicians and private individuals with no skin in the game.
Sign the petition and let Boonton’s Town Council know that a BID is wrong for Boonton.