OLYMPIA – The Parking and Business Improvement Area, a downtown beautification group that requires businesses to pay fees, could cut its budget by 30 percent next year. However, the group is soldiering on with a new marketing campaign despite the recession.
The PBIA’s proposed 2010 budget is $100,000, down from $143,500 this year. Downtown cleaning would take the biggest budget hit, from $50,000 to $15,000.
PBIA Board Chairwoman Katherine Mahoney said the full-time operator of the Green Machine, a downtown street sweeper, has been notified that his job is being cut. Instead, the group will contract for cleaning services. But she was hopeful things will turn around.
“Entrepreneurs, at heart, are creative and responsive,” she said. “That’s what you see when things get difficult.”
The Olympia City Council’s general government committee will review the PBIA’s budget at its next meeting, at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Council Chambers, 900 Plum St. S.E. The full council has the final say on the budget.
The cut isn’t as big as it looks. Mahoney said the budget typically is $125,000 per year. Ruthie Snyder, a city code-enforcement officer and staffer for the PBIA, said money from the 2008 budget was moved into the 2009 budget for marketing, resulting in the higher $143,500 figure.
Read Full Article
0 comments:
Post a Comment