A. The council, upon recommendation of the management committee, may annually assess a business improvement benefit fee as defined by the ordinance upon all real property owners and business owners, exclusive of:

(1) governmentally owned real property;

(2) residential real property that is not multifamily residential rental property with at least four units or homeowners associations of multifamily ownership properties;

(3) real property owned by a nonprofit corporation; or

(4) residential real property, located within an existing district, that became eligible for a business improvement benefit fee assessment after the district was created, unless the ordinance that created the district is amended to include the new business or property after notice is provided and a hearing is held in accordance with Section 3-63-10 NMSA 1978.

B. The council may make reasonable classifications regarding real property owners located within the district. The annual assessment may be based on the amount of space used for business purposes, street front footage, building or land square footage or such other factors or combination of factors as shall be deemed reasonable. The annual assessment shall be in addition to any other incorporated municipal-imposed license fees or other taxes, fees or other charges assessed or levied for the general benefit and use of the incorporated municipality.

C. All money received by the municipality from the district assessment shall be held in a special account for the benefit of the district.

D. In the case of a district that was created by a majority of real property owners, the amount owed by a commercial tenant shall be proportional to the square footage of space that the tenant rents but shall not be more than seventy-five percent of the total business improvement benefit fee assessed on the property. The property owner shall pay at least twenty-five percent of the business improvement benefit fee.

E. In the case of a district that was created by a majority of businesses, the business improvement benefit fee shall be collected at the same time that the real property owner's property taxes are collected. Businesses shall be assessed for one hundred percent of the business fee assessed to the property.

History: Laws 1988, ch. 32, § 13; 1999, ch. 204, § 7; 2009, ch. 172, § 3.

The 2009 amendment, effective June 19, 2009, in Subsection A, after "exclusive of", deleted "any real property owned by the United States or the state or any of its political subdivisions located within the district"; and added Paragraphs (1) through (4) of Subsection A.

The 1999 amendment, effective April 6, 1999, inserted "and business owners" in the first sentence of Subsection A and added Subsections C and D.