Provo votes to give alliance $50,000

PROVO — The Provo City Council voted Tuesday to give $50,000 from the city's general fund to the Downtown Business Alliance to keep it operating while it tries to create a new funding source.

The cash will keep the Alliance in business from October through December, its busiest time of the year.

Last spring, the City Council dismantled the system that funded the Alliance by assessing downtown businesses and property owners an additional property fee. The system had been criticized as unfair because it charged all businesses at the same rate even though businesses closer to Center Street saw the most benefit.

The City Council has given notice it is considering a new tiered system that would charge businesses at three different rates, according to their proximity to the center of Historic Downtown Provo.

The prior funding mechanism ended June 30. The City Council provided $40,000 for Alliance operations from July through September.