Staff recommends the current members of the Downtown Business Improvement District board of trustees be appointed to the newly created BID board of trustees.

City Council previously created the downtown Business Improvement District (BID) No. 0001 in August 2015. State law sunsets these districts after 10 years. To create a new BID, Montana law requires that property owners of more than 60% of the area of the proposed district property must sign and submit a petition to initiate a district.  Downtown and East Billings property owners submitted a petition with signatures that represent 71.88% of the property within the proposed district.  

Council renewed the Business Improvement District (BID) on August 11, 2025, by resolution following a public hearing.  The resolution creating the Downtown BID No. 0001 will become effective August 22, 2025, when the current district expires.  State law requires the creation of a new board of trustees for the district when the district is created. The board members of the current BID, which will expire August 22, have previously submitted applications and were appointed by the Mayor with the consent of Council. Staff recommend the same board members be appointed as the trustees of the newly created board. The attached resolution conforms with state law by naming the individual trustees, determining their terms of office and designating the initial board chair.

City Council may:

• Approve the resolution creating the Board of Trustees for the Downtown BID No. 0001; or,
• Modify and approve the resolution; or,
• Not Approve the resolution. Council will be required to provide staff direction as the BID cannot operate without a board of trustees.

There is no financial impact from adopting the resolution and creating the BID Board of Trustees.