Mobile County; City of Prichard, business improvement districts authorized

Prichard businesses fund improvements through new assessments

Prichard can create business districts that charge businesses mandatory assessments for local marketing, security, events, and improvements. Districts must stay within city limits, but their boundaries can overlap. Formation requires signatures from at least 60% of affected business owners or their representatives, a public hearing, and an ordinance. Owners must receive written notice at least 30 days before the hearing. Written protests from more than 50% of affected owners or representatives block the district unless enough protests are withdrawn. Owners have 30 days after the ordinance to file protests. Assessments can use fixed charges per transaction or other city-approved methods; revenue-based charges cannot exceed 4% of gross business revenue. Revenue-based charges can rise annually within that cap. Unpaid assessments carry interest and penalties and become debts owed to the city. Businesses can pass costs to customers through higher prices. A business owners’ association contracts with the city to run the district; either can collect assessments. Plans must identify assessed businesses, boundaries, assessment methods, financing sources, annual budgets, and reporting on activities and costs. Money must fund only activities and improvements listed in the plan, and listed improvements must last at least five years. Post-hearing changes are limited to reducing assessments or excluding areas or business classes that will not benefit. Only the association can request plan changes; higher or new assessments, added areas, or added business classes require formation procedures again. Other changes require a council resolution, mailed notice at least 10 days before a hearing, and newspaper notice at least seven days before it. That hearing must occur within 45 days of the resolution. Districts expire at the time set by their ordinance and can be renewed or replaced with a new plan. Assessments generally last no more than 10 years, but bond-financed improvements allow assessments through the bonds’ maturity. The city or association can issue improvement bonds under applicable law, with assessments from multiple districts backing one bond issue. These bonds do not count toward the city’s constitutional debt limit; the law sets no bond amount.