The Olympian comes out strongly in favor of a Business Improvement District (BID) for downtown Olympia. Business owners would be taxed between $300 and $750 per year, totaling $130k annually:

That money would be spent to promote downtown as a shopping destination and for other improvements such as graffiti removal or hanging flower baskets, more benches or construction of a parking garage.

To suggest that such a small amount of money will help with the "construction of a parking garage" is somewhat absurd (unless the help consists of buying coffee for the construction workers). It also seems disingenuous to claim that there will be more benches installed downtown. Business have already removed most benches because they don't want to attract street people. As we know, removing grafitti won't end grafitti. Thus, we are left with flower baskets as the tool that the BID intends to use to "promote downtown as a shopping destination."

If I owned a business downtown, I wouldn't want to contribute to the BID either. Ooops. Looks like payment would be manditory:

Now comes word that about 60 downtown business owners have signed a petition opposing the formation of the district. Opponents say they would prefer a voluntary assessment. They also object to the fact that, under the existing plan, businesses that refuse to pay the annual assessment would be turned over to a collection agency.

Voluntary assessments are a problem because they would not provide a reliable revenue source. Secondly, it's important that all businesses unite in the quest to revitalize the downtown core. It's a shared responsibility, and that means businesses should share in the investment.

As for the collection agency, it's appropriate to draw parallels to the neighborhood association again. Residents who don't pay their homeowners' assessment can have liens placed on their property. The business assessment is a tax, and owners have an obligation to pay it like any other tax.

Hmmm. This doesn't sound like it will encourage many new small businesses to start up in downtown Olympia. On the contrary, it sounds like one more burden that would prevent businesses (especially small ones) from even considering the idea.