Denver City Council Advances Permanent Aid for Small Businesses Affected by Construction, Effective Jan. 1, 2027
On November 14, news from Denver, Colorado, reported that the Denver City Council's Finance and Business Committee on Tuesday advanced two ordinances that would enshrine in law the city government's program to assist small businesses affected by municipal construction and create a dedicated revenue fund for it, with a target effective date of January 1, 2027. The ordinances were jointly sponsored by Councilmembers Amanda Sawyer, Chris Hinds, and Flor Alvidrez. The aid program, called the Business Impact Opportunity Program, or BIO Fund, provides grants and technical assistance to small businesses affected by city-funded construction. The ordinances require that municipal projects costing $10 million to $25 million and lasting more than 12 months set aside at least 1% of their budget costs for the program; projects costing $25 million or more and lasting more than 18 months would set aside between 1% and 5% of their budget. The city government has asked economists and the finance department to study sales tax revenue in three business improvement districts along East Colfax to estimate the size of the fund; the three districts are Colfax, Bluebird, and Mayfair. Councilmember Hinds said the dedicated fund is intended to give the aid program a stable source of funding instead of relying on temporary appropriations. The two ordinances have now been submitted to the full City Council for consideration.
Source: Denver City Council
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Wikimedia Commons，丹佛联合车站外景（资料照片），摄影 Sarah Stierch，CC BY 4.0
