"Bidding for Power.

• Author: Marciniak, Todd

Swope, Christopher

Governing, October 1999, pp. 28-30.

This article focuses on the activities and politics of business improvement districts (BIDs). In a BID, businesses voluntarily levy a tax on themselves to fund district improvements. Initially created to keep cities, neighborhoods, and business districts clean and attractive, BIDs are growing more ambitious. The Coliseum Central Business Improvement District in Hampton, Virginia, for instance, has created a "20-year redevelopment plan with the aim of making the whole area more inviting and pedestrian friendly." The $236 million plan includes such improvements as narrowing a major boulevard, building a new pedestrian mall, creating new waterfront development along a canal, and improving streetscapes. Several BIDs have made highly visible capital investments, and a few have even begun to issue their own bonds, causing many to believe that some BIDs have overstepped their bounds. In New York City, BIDs have become...