Janice Peterson

An 11th-hour plan was thrown into the discussions on how to fund the Downtown Business Alliance on Tuesday.

Councilman George Stewart announced during the Provo City Council meeting a new funding mechanism, based solely on voluntary contributions.

"This is something that was worked on today," Stewart said.

The goal was to bring before the council a solution the Downtown Alliance could take to their board for discussion as well.

The announcement came at the beginning of a public hearing that many expected to be emotional on all sides. However, the proposal was well-accepted and may be the beginning of peace for business owners in the area.

Stewart said the proposal stems from talks with Nu Skin, which said it would be more than happy to donate money for the alliance in lieu of a possible assessment district.

"I anticipate that the Alliance would have more than it would have had under an assessment district," Stewart said.

The decision comes after many businesses in the downtown area protested paying an extra property tax to fund the Alliance, which works to bring businesses and patrons to the downtown area.

Since the alliance was formed in 2001, its $150,000 yearly budget has been paid for by taxes from businesses in the area enclosed by 200 North and 100 South, and also 300 East and 600 West. Between 100 East and 300 West, the boundary also stretched to 400 North.

Business owners protested the tax earlier this year, and the City Council voted in May to end the taxation. The council agreed with outspoken property owners who felt the flat rate was unfair because some businesses did not see as many benefits as others.

The council also voted to foot the bill to keep the alliance afloat for the rest of the year while it decided on a long-term solution.

A new tiered rate plan was to be discussed at Tuesday's City Council meeting, and business owners who opposed the plan were told to submit formal, written protests by Oct. 15.

With the tiered rates, property owners farthest from the center of the district would pay less, and the city would contribute taxes for its properties in the area.

Although all business owners would pay less money for the assessment, many were still unhappy with the alternative.

"I'm not opposed to what the Alliance is doing," said John Beesley, a downtown business owner. "I oppose the additional property tax."

When the votes were tallied, 30 percent of business owners opposed the resolution. Although the number was a relatively small fraction, Beesley said the number did not represent all those who opposed the plan.

"I think the only people you are hearing for [the tiered rate plan] are a select few overall," he said.

Beesley said not all owners knew how to submit their opposition, and anyone who did not vote against the plan were counted as for it.

Had 50 percent been against it, by statute it would have been overturned. At only 30 percent, the decision was up to the discretion of the City Council.

However, for Stewart and others on the council, the number who protested represented far too many of the business owners.

"From my standpoint, that was more than we would like to have seen," he said.

Thus, city workers toiled away Tuesday afternoon to come up with a solution and put the new proposal before the council for review.

Because the plan was not on the council's agenda, they could not vote for or against it. Instead, they voted to continue the proposal for a tiered rate plan, as well as a voluntary contribution plan, until the next meeting on Nov. 13.

Richard Bradford, a business owner who has been outspoken against the tax, said many owners do not want to be taxed, but they would be happy to voluntarily contribute to support the Alliance. He applauded the council's efforts to resolve the situation for everyone's benefit.

"I think it is a creative approach," he said. "I think it shows some thought. I think it shows responsiveness to the principles."

Beesley said the assessments were not fair because many property owners saw no benefit from the Downtown Business Alliance. If the Alliance does any good for the area, he said, it should be able to support itself with willing donors.

"If it's done on a voluntary situation, those that aren't participating now, if it's so good, they'll want to participate," he said.