By Keri Luiz
Assistant Editor

The Downtown Benicia Alliance had its second public meeting Monday since forming in the wake of the establishment of the Benicia Business Improvement District.

Amid organizational matters such as Brown Act training, conducted by City Attorney Heather McLaughlin, the new nonprofit group’s board — and a few members of the public — got a lesson in proper definitions.

Economic Development Manager Mario Giuliani explained that while the DBA and BID acronyms had been used interchangeably in past, there was a difference between the two.

“The Business Improvement District is the district that was formed in November, so that’s a self-assessment district. The Downtown Benicia Alliance, which this is the board of, is the nonprofit group that oversees that district,” Giuliani said.

A BID is a way for business owners to levy assessments on themselves and use the funds for projects or services that benefit those in the district. Benicia’s was formed in November, with purchase of the downtown tree lights — partly subsidized by the city — its first official act.

According to the BID’s plan, first-floor downtown businesses will be assessed $192 a year; second-floor businesses will be charged $60. All money will remain in the district and be used for improvements and services to affected businesses, though the first order of business is to pay back the city a portion of the cost for the tree lights.

In a report to the DBA on Monday, Giuliani explained that the city collects the money, which is turned over to the DBA. Everything collected this year will go back to the city as reimbursement for the light installation, less the cost needed to pay for insurance and the contract with Civitas Advisers, the Sacramento-based firm consulted in the formation of the BID.

Dennis Cullen of Cullen’s Tannery Pub asked about the assessment. “How do you enforce the people that are not up to date on their payment, and what about all the empty spaces that used to have tenants, and what about new tenants?” he asked.

For someone who refuses to pay, “they would receive a courtesy letter, drafted by me, reminding them that they are past due. If they do not respond within a week’s time, (another letter would be) more tersely written. That letter would indicate that failure to pay would force collections,” Giuliani said.

He acknowledged that they would be entering into new territory because the DBA would enact a collections process on that business. “You’re talking about a dollar value if you’re an upstairs business of $60 and a dollar value of $192 (for street level).

“The business would have to make a determination: ‘Is it worth going to collections and having my credit harmed for that dollar amount?’” he said.

Another option that a business could have would be to go to court. Giuliani said a business could file a lawsuit against the DBA saying for whatever reason they should not be in the BID.

“Again, it’s going to be a business decision by that business owner: is it really worth it? The legitimacy of the formation of the BID certainly met all of its requirements,” he said.

With regard to businesses that are not longer open, once the BID fee is paid, there is no refund, he said.

If a business comes in later in the year, the BID fee is prorated, he said, just like the business’s license fee.

In other matters, Giuliani also urged the DBA to form a subcommittee tasked with legislative advocacy, “so if there is something happening at the City Council that affects the downtown merchants, you would have a subcommittee of this body representing it at the City Council,” he said.

The next meeting of the DBA is scheduled for April 8.