Cost of BID is just to keep it in existence

Last week we promised a further look at Boston BID - the so called "Business Improvement District."
In a couple of recent blogs we have queried the worth of this organisation, which came into existence on the minimum of votes required, yet can demand a "levy" from every business in the district whether they voted for it or not, and whether they think it is worth the money or not.
There is an impressive list of objectives the BID plans to meet in the five years of its existence - it is now approximately 18 months in.
But in terms of achievements to date, its chief claim to fame is the creation of the town rangers and some minor weed pulling here and there.
We took a look at the BID "business plan" to see if we could find out more about what could be on the cards,
Over the five years that the BID will run, it will generate a total of £650,000 from the levy and a further £25,000 from "voluntary external funds" - with the promise of a further £650,000 if bids for "external additional funds" are successful.
However, based on the figures in the plan, which excludes these extra monies, the accounts include £300,000 for the town rangers plus £7,500 for their kit, £150,000 for the BID manager, £99,500 for marketing and promotions, £45,000 for office expenses, £30,000 for "street scene, signage enhancements", £28,000 for advertising, and £15,000 for admin.
The business plan claims that BID members will not pay for services already provided by business rates - includes policing, "town enhancement," road and path maintenance and street cleaning.
Try as we might, we cannot think of the town rangers as anything more than ancillary and largely ineffectual policemen - so that's one promise down the drain.
Surely, clearing weeds comes under the heading of road and path maintenance - or if not then it certainly qualifies as street cleaning.
And what about £30,000 for street scene, signage enhancements - again that is on the list of items that BID members should not be asked to pay for.
The BID spending over five years allocates the lion's share of it's income in staffing and admin costs which total £517,500 of the £675,000 being contributed, and on justifying its existence - although we have seen little by way of marketing and promotions.
In short, it needs the money from the levy to pay for the fact that is there.
If Boston BID did not exist, we would not notice the difference.
We really feel that there needs to be a serious reappraisal of the need for this organisation before it is allowed to swallow up hundreds of thousand of pounds of money which could certainly be better spent.

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