CR Council approves Czech Village-New Bohemia self-supported improvement district

CEDAR RAPIDS - The City Council on Tuesday agreed with the majority of property owners in Czech Village and New Bohemia and created a Self-Supported Municipal Improvement District, or SSMID, for the two historic commercial neighborhoods.

This is the city's third SSMID. Property owners in downtown and the MedQuarter district also have created SSMIDs, which allow them to assess additional property taxes inside the district and use the extra revenue to enhance the area.

The new Czech Village-New Bohemia SSMID will begin to collect an extra $1 per $1,000 of property valuation on July 1, 2016. The additional assessment will raise $18,519 a year, Kirsty Sanchez, a planner in the city's Community Development Department, told the council.

In the new taxing district, the SSMID setup is being created for seven years. A Czech Village-New Bohemia SSMID Commission, to be appointed by the mayor and council, will have the ability to recommend that the tax increase up to $3 per $1,000 of valuation. The council must approve any increase or decrease.

The downtown SSMID collects an additional $2.75 per $1,000 of property valuation from property owners, while the MedQuarter district collects $3.75 per $1,000 valuation.

Sanchez said the current value of property in the Czech Village-New Bohemia taxing district is $18.5 million. But the value is expected to more than double once development projects now under construction - which include New Bo Station and The Depot in New Bohemia - are completed and come on the tax rolls, she said.

State law requires that at least 25 percent of the property owners and owners of 25 percent of the property value agree to seek to create a SSMID.

In the Czech Village-New Bohemia taxing district, 57 percent of owners agreed and those who own 62 percent of the property value also did, Sanchez said.