The EID will charge property owners seven cents per square foot on their downtown commercial real estate holdings. It is estimated that this will raise about $200,000 per year to be used by Go Downtown! for marketing and improvements. An additional $100,000 would come from the city's downtown parking district.

Some downtown business owners like Stephen Perkins, co-owner of Cascade Baking are afraid property owners will pass the new expense down to them and the "tax" will come out of their pockets.

"Most of the business owners downtown don't know what the EID is about," Perkins said. "This is a group [Go Downtown!] that operates outside what business owners know about. We have no control, no say. Where is all that money going?"

Executive Director of Go Downtown! Suzi Bicknell said it depends on individual property owners as to how they will handle the new tax.

"When business owners hear about the exciting things we're going to do with that money they will be pleased," Bicknell said. "We want to help businesses by bringing more people downtown. The question for us is how do we maximize the good things and minimize the costs to business owners."
The next public hearing to review the EID proposal is February 25 at 7:30 p.m. in council chambers.