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City Council
Date:
May 18, 2026
To:
City Council
Through:
Scott J. Butler, City Manager
Brent Stoddard, Assistant City Manager
From:
Jeffrey McVay, Manager of Urban Transformation
Niki Gallegos, Office of Urban Transformation
Subject:
Mesa Town Center Improvement District No. 228
Approval of the FY2026/2027 district assessments
District 4
Purpose and Recommendation
The purpose of this report is to provide information for the City Council to review and
consider approval of the 2026-2027 (tax year) Mesa Town Center Improvement District
No. 228 assessments. The assessments will cover the costs and expenses of the
District for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026-2027. The proposed FY 2026-2027 final assessments
do not reflect any rate increase from the previous year.
Staff recommends that the City Council approve the 2026-2027 Mesa Town Center
Improvement District No. 228 assessments as shown in Exhibit “A” of the attached
Resolution.
Background
On October 7, 1985, the Council passed Resolution No. 5617 establishing the Mesa
Town Center Improvement District No. 228 to provide enhanced municipal services for
the Town Center (see Exhibit “A” Location Map). The Council is required by law to hold
an annual public hearing on the assessments to provide the property owners within the
District with the opportunity to review their annual assessments to ensure that the
assessment rates have been correctly applied and assessed to their property. The
annual hearing is not to address the continuation of the District. On December 8, 2021,
City Council approved continuation of the District for an additional five (5) years. The
2021 approval allowed the District to annually assess property owners through the
Fiscal Year (FY) 26/27.
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Discussion
The designated property manager for the District, Downtown Mesa Association (“DMA”),
has prepared the FY2026/27 Mesa Town Center Assessments (see Exhibits of the
attached Resolution) based upon the previously approved assessment rates. The DMA
has established its annual “Estimated Cost of Expenses” as reflected in Exhibit B. On
April 6, 2026, City Council set May 18, 2026, as the public hearing date for the
proposed final assessments. A "Notice of Hearing" was mailed on Tuesday, April 7,
2026, to each assessed property owner as listed on the Maricopa County tax rolls. The
resolution setting the public hearing date was also published in the Arizona Republic
Newspaper for a total of eight (8) days beginning on Tuesday, May 6, 2026 (see Exhibit
C). As of this time, we have received three letters of opposition from the property
owner(s) (see Exhibit D).
Alternatives
One alternative would be for the Council to choose not to assess the Mesa Town Center
property owners as outlined under Resolution No. 5617. This would mean that the City
would not levy any assessments this year and that the enhanced services being
provided by the DMA would be terminated or funded by another funding source, rather
than with assessments.
This alternative is not recommended as the DMA provides a valuable service to the
downtown Mesa area.
Fiscal Impact
For fiscal year 2026/2027, the Town Center Improvement District assessed 511 parcels.
These assessment funds are provided to the City from the County and the City
functions as a pass-through of the funds to DMA. In addition, and per Arizona Revised
Statutes Title 48, Chapter 4, Article 2, the City is responsible for providing staff time to
review and set procedures, record protest(s) received, and provide for the mailing of
notices for the DMA. At the time of this report, three official protest letters from property
owners have been received.
Per A.R.S. § 48-582 and Resolution No. 5617, the City is exempt from paying annual
District assessments on City-owned lots. However, through a Professional Services
Contract between the City of Mesa and DMA, the City does provide an annual voluntary
assessment to cover basic services for City-owned land in downtown Mesa, such as
litter and graffiti removal, pigeon and weed control, and sidewalk power washing. Also
through the Professional Services Contract with the City, DMA provides enhanced
services for all of downtown Mesa, including the promotion of downtown Mesa as a
destination, event management and sponsorship, communication and collaborative
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problem solving/planning, serving in a role of real estate liaison/broker for downtown
properties, being the central point of contact and property owner/merchant advocacy,
ensuring board and committee management, and managing the downtown banner and
sculpture program. Importantly, through the contract, DMA is also responsible for
parking management and enforcement of public parking facilities in downtown Mesa.
Additionally, DMA provides landscape and custodial services for the Plaza at Mesa City
Center and for the Post and Neon Garden. The total cost of the enhanced services
included in the Professional Services Contract for FY26/27 is $701,713.82. Including the
Town Center Improvement District Assessments and Professional Services Contract,
DMA will have an annual operating budget of $982,475.27.
As required by the Professional Services Contract, DMA collects special event parking
fees on behalf of the City and maintains those revenues in a separate bank account to
fund parking enhancements and downtown activation initiatives at the City’s direction.
DMA collected approximately $146,000.00 in special event parking revenue in FY25/26
and the fund currently has a balance of $254,737.00.
Concurrence
The Downtown Mesa Association concurs with this recommendation.
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EXHIBIT A
SID 228 District Boundary
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EXHIBIT B
Total Cost of Annual Expenses
Mesa Town Center Improvement District No. 228
FY 2025 / 2026 ESTIMATED COST OF EXPENSES
EXPENSES ESTIMATED COST*
COMMERCIAL
PROPERTY
ASSESSMENT
CITY SELF
ASSESSMENT
ENHANCED
SERVICES
Administrative
Costs/Retirement/Benefits
$76,897.31
$21,693.87
$90,782.00
Clean Sweep Ambassador Program
$82,918.51
$73,121.62
$158,770.18
Parking Management & Enforcement
$39,111.58
$39,111.20
$39,111.20
Rent
$1.00
-
-
Utilities
$4,000.00
$2,000.00
$2,000.00
Internet / Telephones
$1,000.00
$1,000.00
$1,000.00
Building, Liability, D&O Insurance
$4,500.00
$3,000.00
$3,000.00
Repairs and Maintenance
$5,500.00
$1,000.00
$5,000.00
Equipment
$1,000.00
$1,000.00
$1,800.00
Printing/Publishing
$496.88
$1,000.00
$1,000.00
Postage
$300.00
$300.00
$150.00
Supplies
$2,000.00
$1,500.00
$2,000.00
Vehicles Costs
$3,710.11
$2,500.00
$2,500.00
Conferences/Seminars
$2,000.00
$814.41
Dues/Subscriptions
$300.00
$200.00
-
Taxes/Licenses
$400.00
$200.00
-
Promotions/Marketing/Advertising
$57,666.67
$35,666.67
$50,666.67
Weed Control & graffiti Abatement
$5,000.00
$3,000.00
$4,000.00
Business Development
$29,491.39
$25,470.00
$20,824.00
Pressure Washing
$10,000.00
$8,000.00
$3,000.00
Events
$25,000.00
$10,000.00
$15,000.00
TOTAL BUDGET
$351,293.45
$230,577.77
$400,604.05
TOTAL BUDGET
$982,475.27
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EXHIBIT C
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EXHIBIT D
Letters of Protest
(See attached documents)