Council votes to sign Commercial Street CID petition

The city of Springfield has put its signature on Commercial Street's community improvement district petition.

Springfield City Council voted Monday night to authorize Mayor Tom Carlson to sign the petition to create the Commercial Street CID. If the district is created, businesses in the district could vote to levy a half-cent sales tax on their customers; that money would pay for maintenance and improvements to neighborhood infrastructure.

For the petition to be successful, it must have signatures from 51 percent of the 100 property owners in the district boundaries as well as 51 percent of the $3.8 million in assessed property value represented. The city owns five properties in the district.

Council members Doug Burlison and Cindy Rushefsky opposed signing the petition, citing the potential impact of additional sales tax on businesses in the district - many of which lease property and therefore don't get to vote. Rushefsky added that the city does not have to sign the petition for it to go forward.

"If we're concerned about them doing what they want to do rather than what we want them to do, I think it would be more compelling for us to stand out of it and let them decide what they want," she said.

Councilman John Wylie said he voted in favor of signing the petition because it was supported by many of the district's property owners, meaning the city should support it as well.

Councilwoman Mary Collette, who owns property in the district, abstained from the discussion and vote.

If the petition obtains the required signatures, council would then be asked to approve it. District property owners would still have to vote separately on whether to levy the allowed CID sales tax.

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