Provo's City Council has visited downtown Pasadena, Calif., to learn about successful revitalization, and the former director of the Old Pasadena Management District said it uses a formula instead of a flat-rate fee.

"The businesses pay a fair share based on assessment formulas," said Maggie Campbell, now CEO of the Arlington (Texas) Downtown Management Corp. "There are fee zones so businesses on the main street pay more for seeing the most benefit. That makes the fees more defensible. Those on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena paid a higher percentage. And we cleaned Colorado Boulevard with much more frequency than the other streets."

Campbell said business improvement district groups should have to defend their fees and activities before city councils and to property owners in the districts.

"I have heard of districts that have been undone and then reinstituted," she said. "They had a better product in the end."

Provo Mayor Lewis Billings estimated that funding the alliance through September will cost the city $42,000. An ongoing public-private partnership beyond that would be even more expensive.

Feehan said that route historically leaves the council open to criticism for using city funds to replace money that a majority of downtown property owners were willing to pay.

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E-mail: twalch@desnews.com

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