UWEX Local Government Center logo header Workshops
WisLine
Publications
Internet Resources
About LGC
Local Government Officials Programs Button Effective Meetings Button Local Government Finance Button Intergovernmental Cooperation Button Community Planning & Design Button Growth Management Button Disaster Management & Recovery Button Wisconsin Barn Preservation Program Button Extension Faculty Support Button  


Business Improvement Districts

What is a Business Improvement District - BID?

Stylized drawing of small city skyline with water tower and sunWisconsin Act 184, signed into law in 1984, gives Wisconsin municipalities (i.e., cities, villages and towns) the power to establish one or more Business Improvement Districts within their community and an assessment methodology that allows business properties within that geographic area to contribute to programs aimed at promotion, management, maintenance and development of that district. BID assessments are restricted to commercial and industrial properties subject to real estate tax. Tax-exempt properties (i.e., religious, public utility, or government properties) or those used exclusively as residences cannot be included in the assessment district.

wdac.jpg (4079 bytes) Since 1992, the University of Wisconsin - Extension (UWEX), in collaboration with the Wisconsin Downtown Action Council (WDAC), has monitored Business Improvement Districts operating in Wisconsin municipalities. Each year, BID representatives respond to a questionnaire requesting information on a wide variety of topics related to BID operation including: assessment methods, revenues, expenditures, district programs and activities, staffing, etc.

BID Contents

Get Acrobat Reader iconLocal Government Center educational materials may be viewed and printed using Adobe Acrobat. You must have this program installed on your computer. A copy of this program is available free from Adobe. 

BID Fact Sheet - PDF 38 kb Directory of BID Contacts - PDF 307 kb
Creating a BID - PDF 32 kb State Statutes Regulating BIDs: Section 66.1109 - PDF 12 kb



Related Links

If you have any questions or comments about Wisconsin Business Improvement Districts e-mail Chuck Law at chuck.law@uwex.edu.

University of Wisconsin System
>University of Wisconsin Extension
>>UWEX Cooperative Extension
>>>CNRED Program Area

 All material Copyright© 1997-2007 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, doing business as the Division of Cooperative Extension, University of Wisconsin-Extension.  All rights reserved.  If you have questions or comments about the LGC Web Site, find it difficult to access this page, or wish to request an accommodation because of a disability,  please e-mail the UWEX Local Government Center at lgc@uwex.edu .
This page was last updated February 6, 2007. Back to LGC Home Page Back to home page icon