StopAVLBID met at 5:00 tonight. I wasn’t invited, and it’s just as well. I had three other places to be at that hour. The group does not embrace a 7-cent-per-$100-valuation property tax increase proposed for a Business Improvement District in downtown Asheville. Since Asheville property owners pay city and county taxes already, the tax would represent triple taxation. In exchange, the downtown crowd would get the basic city services that should be job-one and job-two of government and therefore covered by any first round of taxation. Since tax revenue springs eternal, government funds the fru-fru first so it can whine about having no money for cops or teachers.

But the 7-cent tax will not be enough, so the county and city have each been asked to kick in $200,000 from their hobbled budgets. Even with that, some say 7 cents will not be enough; BIDs in other places typically have double-digit tax rates.

To boot, the public safety provided would only be rent-a-cops that provide hospitality services to tourists. Sanitation will be provided, but people downtown already sweep the streets in front of their shops. The BID will also play winners and losers with businesses, participating in “economic development.” Maybe if enough celebrants at the upcoming beer festivals relieve themselves all over the sidewalks, the BID will gain support.

The BID would provide another layer of governance, only this one would not be answerable to the public. Advocates spoke with BIDs in other municipalities to get ideas about how Asheville’s should be run. Unfortunately, those that despise BIDs or couldn’t afford to do business under them, have likely gone to more supportive environments, leaving behind a greater concentration of BID advocates.