City approves first reading of BID ordinance

The Madison City Commission has approved the first reading of an ordinance establishing a Business Improvement District (BID) in the city.  Commissioners Monday held a hearing on the creation of the District.  The BID will include an occupational tax of two-dollars a night on guests of the city’s hotels, motels, or lodging establishments. Greater Madison Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Eric Hortness said it will be a tax paid by those visiting the city.

Hortness gave commissioners an example of a community utilizing its BID funds to help bring in a major sporting event.

Hortness had said at a previous meeting that the tax is estimated to generate between 50-and-100-thousand dollars annually.