Staff photo by Mary Fortune / Steve Brookes will start his role as director of Chattanooga’s downtown Business Improvement District in mid-April.The new director of downtown Chattanooga’s Business Improvement District knows he’s about to have a big job on his hands, but said he feels prepared to take on the challenges of heading up the controversial new district.
“I oversee a 24/7 BID in Boston. It’s a busy industry,” said Steve Brookes, who visited Chattanooga this week before he begins his new role in mid-April. “Property owners are being taxed twice. They have expectations – they should have expectations – and it’s very important to meet their needs. It’s what I expect.”
The downtown Chattanooga Business Improvement District was established by city ordinance in July 2019. The contentious process prompted lawsuits and objections by business owners included in the district.
Properties within the district zone pay special assessment fees of about $1 million a year collectively to fund improvements to the central city to make the area cleaner and safer, as well as to fund enhanced beautification and other special projects.
The most recent controversy to dog the new BID is the question of whether nonprofits and churches within the zone should have to pay the assessed fees. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on West Seventh Street, Second Presbyterian Church on Pine Street, the United Way on Market Street, and the YMCA on West Sixth Street applied last month to be exempt from paying the fees associated with the district.