Taunton BID doesn't like to say it’s a council partnership - but that’s exactly what it is.
BID’s are partnerships between local authorities and local businesses, with local authorities having core roles and responsibilities in the development and management of BID’s. There is no disputing this, after all even central Government documentation says this, but BID proposers are careful not to highlight this fact. Considering local authorities play such a key role in enabling BID’s, why are Taunton BID so scared of highlighting the fact.
It’s because BID’s can be the start of a slippery slope for the privatisation of some council services, or at least act as a good reason a local authority doesn’t need to provide anything above what it does before a BID area is implemented. Although local authorities (in our case both Somerset County Council and Somerset West & Taunton Council) will pay into the BID as a result of having hereditaments in the BID area, it seems only natural they would want the BID to be voted in given there’s no apparent downside for them; after all nothing to lose if businesses are investing private money to make their job even easier in making Taunton look “spic and span”. Who wouldn’t be happy if they were offered extra free cleaning, and be honest the council do an excellent job now in Taunton Town Centre, and should be commended for it rather than than businesses say it’s not good enough!
It’s hard to find an example of a local authority in the UK that has publicly declared an objection to voting a BID scheme in, I wonder why? It’s easy, it’s because they know they are onto a good thing!
Taunton BID will tell you not to worry, the BID fund’s are only intended to be spent on council services beyond those provided now, this is true and they’ll say we’ll have formal agreements to clarify this, namely Baseline and Operating Agreements to accompany the Business Plan. Well immediately it’s easy to see another downside to agreeing such service level agreements, you are effectively creating “maximum service level agreements”. Where’s the incentive to invest more in services for the town centre and do better than now, and what organisation ever to enter into such an agreement (unless you were providing the services of course)?
So what is normally covered in these Baseline Agreements; Cleansing & Maintenance, Licensing, Environmental Health, Car Parking, CCTV, Tourism, Marketing, Markets, Festivals & Events, Street Furniture, Street Lighting, Town Centre Planting & Landscaping, Public Conveniences, Highways & Roads, Policing. As you can see this is quite a long list and we look forward to Taunton BID presenting Baseline Agreements for all these areas alongside the Business Plan in the Autumn.
Minehead BID appear to have very few such agreements or have chosen not to publish them, either way it’s very interesting and raises questions about the shroud of secrecy over them. Their website publishes just four; just one with SWT which pertains only to BID Levy collections, and three "baseline activity logs with Minehead Town Council for florals, toilets and christmas lights. This seems pretty “light” in terms of transparency for baseline agreements with their local authorities for all the above.
Besides creating maximum service level agreements, the other major problem with baseline agreements is just how much “wriggle room” local authorities have to get out of them, so they don’t even have to fulfill what they said they would. This is what is written in the Taunton BID feasibility study, make your own conclusions:
“In the best case scenario public agencies will sign a binding legal agreement to keep their service levels set for the lifetime of the BID. In reality most BIDs have baseline agreements that are not binding on the public agency in terms of their ability to change them. Although these may not be formally binding it enables the BID to set out very clearly for its levy payers, what the public agencies’ responsibilities are and in the event of them not being fulfilled, the BID can guarantee that it would not replace them.”
Interesting how there’s an admission that these agreements don’t tend to be legally binding, local authorities can change their obligations at will, and in the event they are not provided the BID company has the legal position of saying it doesn’t have to fill the gap for their own levy payers - sounds like “not my problem Jack!”. Fact is that these baseline agreements are nothing more than guides so worthless, and the British BID’s survey 2019 reported that only 27% of baseline agreements are being adhered to by Public Authorities. Read more in our article Can Taunton BID really promise us we won’t lose council services in the BID area? Doesn’t look like it.
For those that don’t know, Taunton BID 2007-2012 is a good example of being “caught” too close to the Police and Council last time, this is what the Taunton BID working Group minuted for their meeting on 21st May 2019:
“BID was too close to the Police and Council - it was difficult to prove that the BID was adding value over and above what was being provided by the Police and Council. It was particularly difficult when policing resource was pulled elsewhere. Difficult to prove added value when the perception (and sometime the reality) was that the basic services were lacking.
It’s the admission of the reality of basic services lacking which is the disturbing revelation.
Let’s come back to how close BID companies really are to local authorities, the partnership. Here’s another statement form the Taunton BID feasibility study that shows us how important and close the relationships needs to be;
“It is important to ensure that Taunton BID has full support from both the Councils in any future BID development scheme, both to secure their vote and to ensure that they will support and enable the new BID Company to deliver the BID Plan.”
But finally it comes down to money as always, and lets clarify who really enables and financially backs the BID proposal and vote YES campaign - you got it, public money most likely from the Council. It isn’t cheap to get a full BID off the ground, Taunton Chamber are the BID proposers but that’s “a front” for the deep donor pockets really funding their vote YES campaign, after all the Chamber have in the region of 100+ members starting at £42/year. We have asked Taunton BID for confirmation of the budget and funding sources and await confirmation of that, but presumably public money (from the Council be it directly or indirectly) is funding the vote YES BID process from feasibility study through consultation, ballot and setting up the BID if voted in, and based on other BID processes this figure is likely to be somewhere in the region of £40,000 or more. Guess what is available to a NO camaign to try and provide balance to what is “sold” as a democratic process - £0. As you can appreciate, it’s a no-brainer for the Council if they can gamble in the region of £40,000+ in the hope of buying a YES mandate, forcing businesses to cough up £1.3 million to spend on the town centre!
Time to make your own conclusions about the partnerships between BID’s and local authorities, and what it could mean for Taunton ……
Click on image to view article. This BID has bought it's Council a new street cleaning machine to use! That council must be loving it's BID, clearly it's reaping the benefits, but surely the Council should be footing the bill if it's equipment isn't upto the job?