Businesses in Osborne Village could soon see the largest increase to business improvement zone levies anywhere in Winnipeg.

A report headed to the executive policy committee next week recommends increasing the levy rate for the Osborne Village BIZ by 40.5 per cent, the biggest among the city’s 16 zones.

Charles Garinger, co-owner of Hive Hair Company in Osborne Village, says the jump is significant.

“Obviously we don’t want to pay that much more money … that does seem like a pretty hefty fee,” Garinger said.

Business improvement zones collect fees from local businesses to fund services including neighbourhood marketing, beautification projects, safety patrols and events.

The Osborne Village BIZ says the increase reflects rising costs and requests from businesses in the area.

Executive director Zohreh Gervais says the levy has not increased in several years and was reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have not raised our levy in a number of years,” Gervais said. “It’s been actually lowered a couple times and then it stayed static.”

The increased rate is expected to increase the total levy the BIZ collects from $200,000 to $260,000 this year. 

The additional funding would help pay for things including the neighbourhood’s safety ambassador program, beautification work and events such as the Village Music Fest.

“People have really responded well to us having our safety ambassadors in the area, and it’s something that we hope to continue,” Gervais said.

The levy is based on the annual rental value of a business’s space, meaning the cost increase varies depending on the size and rent of each business. This year, it’s rising to 4.12 per cent of a business’s annual rental value from 2.93 per cent .

Garinger says the added cost comes at a time when many businesses are already facing higher expenses.

“Everything’s more expensive now, so that’s just another additional cost,” he said.

He acknowledges safety concerns in the neighbourhood are something many businesses are thinking about.

“The area has changed considerably … it’s still a great place, but it’s not quite what it used to be,” he said. “It’s not as safe.”

The Osborne Village increase stands well above other proposed levy changes across the city.

For example, the Norwood Grove BIZ levy rate would increase by 13.8 per cent, while the North End BIZ levy rate would increase by 11.8 per cent. 

Most other zones are seeing smaller increases, no change, or even decreases.

Business improvement zone levies are collected by the City of Winnipeg, but passed directly to the BIZ organizations that run the programs, meaning the funding is revenue-neutral for the city.

The proposed levy changes will go before the city’s executive policy committee next week before heading to city council for final approval.