FAQ
Q. What is the Downtown Chattanooga alliance?
A. The DCA is a business improvement district that works to keep Downtown Chattanooga clean, safe, and welcoming for all.
Q. what is a business improvement district?
A. A Business Improvement District is a funding tool designed to improve the environment of a designated area with new services financed by a self-imposed and self-governed assessment. These services are provided exclusively within the district, and enhance, not replace, those already provided by the City.
Q. Are there Business Improvement Districts in other cities? What about Tennessee?
A. Yes! There are more than 1,000 Business Improvement Districts across North America. Knoxville, Memphis, and Nashville all have Business Improvement Districts.
Q. what does the dca do?
A. The DCA works with a team of ambassadors to keep the downtown area clean, welcoming, and safe. The DCA set these three priorities after a yearlong process where property owners, tenants, and other community members expressed in stakeholder meetings and a survey what types of services they wanted the DCA to provide. Overwhelmingly, people stated they would like to see enhanced cleaning, safety, and beautification services.
Q. what are the cleaning, safety, and beautification services?
A. For cleaning, the DCA crews hit the streets daily to perform a wide variety of detailed cleaning work like litter pickup, sidewalk sweeping, pressure washing sidewalks, graffiti removal, removal of stickers, gum, and tape from city infrastructure like street poles, and more. Downtown ambassadors contribute to Downtown Safety. These ambassadors have extensive hospitality training, social services training, and an all-around customer service orientation to make your experience – whether a Downtown worker, resident, or visitor – comfortable and friendly. Beautification includes special projects like banners, flower pots, wayfinding signage, planting flowers in tree wells, etc.
Q. who are the ambassadors? are they police officers?
A. No, they are not police officers. If you have an emergency, please call 911. Our ambassadors wear brightly colored and easily identifiable shirts and hats with radios. They clean, pick up trash, and help people throughout the District. They do not carry weapons; they cannot arrest anyone. Their jobs are to interact with everyone in the District in a helpful and friendly way to provide information and resources to all. Walking to your car from a late night at the office and would like someone to walk with you? An ambassador can do that! Car battery won’t start? An ambassador can help you get on your way. Need to know where the closest public restroom is? An ambassador can tell you. Need to know where you can get a cup of coffee on the next block? An ambassador has that covered, too.
Q. what about assisting the homeless and panhandlers? do ambassadors help with that?
A. First, we want to point out that it’s important to make the designation that not all panhandlers are homeless, and not all homeless are panhandlers. Ambassadors have social services training. So, if someone in the DCA area needs assistance, ambassadors are not only trained in how to truly help people, but they also have direct lines with social services providers to assist.
In terms of panhandling, if someone is truly in need, ambassadors can directly and quickly assist individuals. However, if this is not the case, ambassadors can intercede in panhandling situations to help alleviate any anxiety someone being approached for money can feel. If aggressive panhandling occurs, ambassadors would call the Chattanooga Police Department to intervene pursuant to our City’s laws around panhandling.
Q. doesn’t the city provide the same services?
A. The City of Chattanooga has documented its base level of services already provided in the DCA area. You can review that document here. The DCA is required by state statute to provide services above and beyond those already performed in the downtown area. So, the short answer is, the City is already providing some services. The DCA ambassadors provides additional services to ensure Downtown is clean and safe!
Q. can you give an example of what services the dca performs that are different than what the City does?
A. Sure! Around downtown, you see many trash cans and receptacles that the City of Chattanooga is responsible for emptying. In the past, you might have seen them overflowing between pick-ups. The DCA’s Clean Teams will not only remove the trash more often than the City is able to but will collect any litter that doesn’t make it into the cans, sweep up small items like cigarette butts to be disposed of, wipe down and remove stuck-on items like gum that clings to the top of the trash cans and will report to the City if there’s something broken or wrong with the trash can for the City to fix or replace.
Q. WHAT ARE THE BOUNDARIES OF THE DCA?
A. Check out the District map here. The boundaries are roughly the Tennessee River to the north, US27 to the west, 11th Street to the south, and a combination of Georgia Avenue and Cherry Street to the east.
Q. I’M A PROPERTY OWNER IN THE DCA AREA – HOW DOES THIS AFFECT ME?
A. If you own real property in the area, an annual assessment of $0.09 per square foot (of the greater of lot size OR building size) + $4.95 per linear foot of lot frontage. This fee is a line item on your annual property tax bill.
Q. I’M A BUSINESS TENANT IN THE DCA AREA — HOW DOES THIS AFFECT ME?
A. It depends on your lease. Some property owners can pass on this type of cost to tenants in relation to the size of your leased space. Other property owners do not have leases that allow this to happen. And some property owners have stated they absorb the fee altogether. Ask your property owner and/or consult your lease to see what options you have.
Q. I LIVE IN THE DCA AREA — HOW DOES THIS AFFECT ME?
A. If you are a homeowner of a condo or townhome in the area, you pay a flat $150 fee each year that shows up as a line item on your property tax bill. If you are a renter, there’s no effect for you, as apartment developments are considered commercial property.
Q. I LIVE IN CHATTANOOGA BUT DON’T OWN A BUSINESS, PROPERTY, OR LIVE IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA — HOW DOES THIS AFFECT ME?
A. You get all the benefits of a cleaner, safer, and more beautiful Downtown Chattanooga to enjoy with no financial obligation from you. Come visit Downtown and see the improvements we are making!
Q. IS THERE PUBLIC MONEY OR TAX MONEY GOING INTO THE CHATTANOOGA BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT?
A. No. The funds going into the Downtown Chattanooga Alliance are from private property owners; no tax revenues from the city, county, state, or federal government are included in the DCA.
Q. WHO OVERSEES THE DCA?
A. The people who pay into it! That’s the great thing about Business Improvement Districts; they are managed by the people who fund them. The DCA has a board of directors made up of different property owner types (office, retail, restaurant, residential, civic, etc.) that also represent different geographic areas of the proposed BID (i.e. north of 4th Street and south of 4th Street). The DCA board is made up of 9-15 members. There is board representation from non-property owning tenants, as well as the City Council member whose district the Chattanooga Business Improvement District primarily falls within - District 7 in Chattanooga. Review the list of current board members here.
Q. WHO MANAGES THE CHATTANOOGA BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT?
A. The DCA’s board of directors manages the District and is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the IRS. The DCA employs Steve Brookes as the manager. He oversees the day-to-day of the District, manages any contracts or vendors, and is a source of information and point of contact for any District property, business, or homeowner.
Q. CAN I BE ON THE DCA BOARD? ARE THE BOARD MEETINGS OPEN TO EVERYONE?
A. If you own property or are a tenant in the area, you are eligible. The nominations for the initial board are now closed, and board members serve for staggered 1-3 year terms. Every year, there are new board members added as existing members complete their terms. Openings are shared on this website and at the board meetings. And yes, all district board and committee meetings are open to anyone who would like to attend. The current board members can be found here.
Q. when did the dca start?
A. Public meetings and information sessions were held in 2019, and the DCA launched in 2020.
Q. is the DCA forever?
A. The initial term is for 10 years. At that point, the property owners, tenants, and City Council will decide if it continues. Business Improvement Districts nationally have a 98 percent renewal rate.
Q. does the dca have oversight from the city council from year to year?
A. Yes. The City Council member from District 7 is automatically on the DCA Board of Directors. The DCA also provides an annual reporting of activities to the City Council, along with its proposed budget for the upcoming year for approval. The DCA has an annual audit that’s presented to the City Council, as well.
Q. i owe a bid fee, but can that fee ever be reduced or waived?
A. If you are a 501(c)(3) that owns real property in the District or a property owner that currently holds a PILOT or TIF on your property in the District, there is an annual process in which you can ask for a reduced or waived BID fee. All other property types that have a BID fee accessed are required to pay that fee, and a waiver or reduction is not possible.
For 2024, the deadline to request a waiver or reduction is Friday, January 12, 2024, by 5 pm EST. Any late or incomplete submissions will not be considered for 2024 assessment notices. Future requests will be due at the end of the year prior to the year you are seeking a reduction.
Q. if i have questions, who can i contact?
A. Email dtchattalliance@gmail.com. Also, join our District email list below.