So in 2001, most of the business and property owners in downtown Provo agreed to pay an extra .0015 in property tax each year to fund the new Downtown Business Alliance.

In 2004, the tax was renewed at .0011. If the tax is reinstated in July for 2007-10, businesses in the downtown district will annually pay an extra .0014 percent in property tax.

The tax would give the Downtown Business Alliance an annual budget of nearly $170,000.

Not all business and property owners in the downtown district agree with the plan. Some have protested the alliance from the start. They'll have several opportunities to do so over the next three months, but a crucial deadline is four weeks away: Written protests are due to the city recorder by 5 p.m. on May 14.

The Provo Municipal Council will conduct a public hearing on May 15, but if the written protests don't amount to representation of more than 50 percent of affected downtown property, the council can create the tax district.

"No one objects to what's happening in Provo," Schofield said, "but there is a very small minority of property owners who don't like that it's an additional assessment and who think Provo city should be funding it."

A message left for for one business owner opposed to the tax was not returned.

Business and property owners would pay a minimum of $175 and a maximum of $10,000 per year, depending on the size of their lots.

The money pays for four committees and budget areas: Beautification and marketing each account for a little less than one-third of the proposed budget. The final slice, a little more than one-third, goes to two areas, transportation and business expansion and retention.

The committees are staffed on a volunteer basis by business and property owners.

Bradford believes 80 percent of those affected are in favor of renewing the tax district.

"We have to make sure our businesses who have seen the benefit and are supportive of the alliance are telling the councilmembers how they feel," Bradford said.

There's no question where Schofield stands.

"Provo is not over the hump yet," he said. "We could easily go back to the situation like a lot of cities where the downtown becomes a virtual ghost town.

"With the special improvement district, I think Provo has a very bright future. Without it, I don't know."

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E-mail: twalch@desnews.com