It’s good to be a community improvement district in Columbia, according to annual reports and financial statements provided to the Columbia City Council.
The Downtown and Business Loop Community Improvement districts both collected more money than they spent, according to the fiscal 2018 reports.
By the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, the downtown district had collected nearly $600,000 in sales tax and around $220,000 in property assessments while it spent a total of about $700,000. Its biggest expenses were nearly $170,000 for cleaning and maintenance and nearly $95,000 for beautification.
The downtown district raised $130,000 more than it spent during the year, according to a financial statement prepared by Gerding, Korte and Chitwood.
Meanwhile, the Business Loop Community Improvement District reported spending nearly $300,000. The biggest item was corridor planning at nearly $120,000. The district has created an ambitious, long-term plan for revamping the loop with landscaping, public gathering spaces, bicycle and pedestrian improvements and art.
Property assessments brought around $65,000 to the loop district, while sales tax generated nearly $330,000. Its revenue in fiscal 2018 exceeded expenses by nearly $145,000, according to its financial statement, which Gerding, Korte and Chitwood also prepared.
Property assessments in the loop district totaled about $14.07 million, up 4 percent over fiscal 2017. There was $495,280 worth of new construction in the district. While that was down 14 percent from the previous year, the annual report notes that new construction in fiscal 2015 and 2016 “never topped $30,000.”