Business plan for the downtown Kingston management district

Established in 1995, DKMD is an organization founded by private sector property and business owners that are pooling resources to improve the business environment of Downtown Kingston. Services and programs managed by DKMD include street sweeping, garbage collection, security, and marketing. DKMD is similar to private sector downtown management organizations that are found in major cities throughout North America. More than 1,000 of these organizations are partially financed by business improvement districts (BIDs). Based upon the benefit assessment district concept, BIDs allow for localized tax assessments that are self-imposed and self-governed by affected property and business owners. As part of the ICMA project, national BID legislation is being designed to support organizations such as DKMD in Kingston and other Jamaican business districts. The ICMA consultant team has developed a 5-year business plan to sustain DKMD"s stability and growth until a BID can be formed. The business plan has been developed through a participatory process that has included a series of workshops with DKMD board and staff members and representatives from local government. The plan provides a blueprint for the development of DKMD"s various business centers, including maintenance, security, marketing and promotions, membership development, and management services. (Author abstract)