Budget Considerations - Business Improvement Grant

At the August 24, 2026 Strategic Workshop, staff presented the City Council with a list of annual budget items that were identified as services or activities that are not critical to immediate public health, safety, or welfare and could potentially be reduced or eliminated without significantly impacting residents or disrupting core government functions. Inclusion on the list was not intended as a staff recommendation to reduce or eliminate any particular item. Rather, the exercise was intended to identify items the City Council may want to better understand and discuss as part of future budget considerations.

Staff will bring forward the items that ranked highest among those the City Council indicated an interest in learning more about and discussing. The Business Improvement Grant Program was identified as one of those items. Staff will provide a brief presentation on the background and history of the program and then allow the Committee to discuss its future.

The Business Improvement Grant Program has been a valuable tool for encouraging private investment in the City. Participants are generally very appreciative of the assistance, and in some cases, the availability of the grant can influence a business or property owner's decision to move forward with a project. Similar programs are also offered by many other municipalities. That said, the program is not essential to providing core City services, and St. Charles does not face the same level of commercial vacancy or deteriorating properties experienced by some communities that rely more heavily on these programs. Downtown occupancy remains above 95 percent. As a result, reducing or discontinuing the program and redirecting those resources toward higher priority infrastructure or other needs would likely not have a significant negative impact on the community. Eliminating the program would also reduce staff time associated with its administration by approximately 75 hours annually.

If the City Council ultimately chooses to discontinue the program, staff would recommend phasing it out rather than eliminating it immediately, as there are businesses and property owners currently considering projects with the expectation that they may apply for funding during the next fiscal year.

Direction ONLY - Funding Level for Fiscal Year 27/28 Budget