High Point is holding off on pursuing a downtown municipal services district this year.
The MSD is a defined area within a city where officials levy an additional tax to enhance services like public transit. In a presentation to the city council on Monday, a Business High Point survey showed a majority of respondents did not support a new district. But a Downtown High Point survey found a plurality would.
Several council members supported a pause on establishing a new district, saying they didn’t want to disrupt downtown’s growth.
High Point City Manager Tasha Logan Ford says what will trigger the need for revisiting the discussion in the future will change as the area evolves.
“Every year that we continue to build in new services or new activities as part of the city's operating budget, when we establish an MSD, we have to be prepared to go above and beyond that,” Ford said.
Several major cities in North Carolina currently have municipal services districts in place, including Greensboro and Winston-Salem.