NAMPA, Idaho — This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
A long-awaited item by Nampa voters finally passed after a decade in the making.
On Tuesday, voters cast their ballots in strong support of establishing the Nampa Auditorium District. Surpassing the required simple majority support to pass, 61.1% of voters were in support of the district as of Wednesday at noon.
Currently, the Ford Idaho Center and the Nampa Civic Center are funded through a mix of revenue and property taxes. By creating a taxing district that targets concertgoers and visitors, the hope is to relieve the burden on Nampa landowners.
The district established an added 5% tax to hotel stays which will go toward Nampa’s event venues.
In 2011, the initiative made it onto the ballot but failed to pass. It has been an ongoing topic of conversation since, with supporters theorizing that it simply wasn’t promoted enough.
Former Rep. Jeff Agenbroad has been the chair of the auditorium district committee over the past two years, working to inform the public about its benefits.
“We're very pleased with the results,” Agenbroad said Wednesday. “And I'll say, third time’s the charm.”
Previous attempts to get the district on the ballot, before the 2011 election, had also failed.
This time, Agenbroad believes the community had a better understanding of what the district will entail.
“We were able to get our message out and for people to understand what an auditorium district is,” he said.
Agenbroad also noted that previous attempts saw “organized opposition that was confusing the message.”
Some misconceptions have been that the initiative would result in increased property taxes for residents. Instead, this added 5% tax will not fall on Nampa homeowners, but on visitors.
The concept of an entertainment district is not new. In Idaho, Boise, Pocatello and Idaho Falls each have an auditorium taxing district.
Boise’s district was created in 1959 and has funded the construction of the Boise Centre. The tax is currently 5% and applies to hotel stays — exactly the same as the newly established Nampa Auditorium District.
In next steps, the five-member auditorium district board will establish its bylaws and founding principles.
“Thank you to the voters,” Agenbroad said. “Thank you for taking the time to understand what an auditorium district is (and) its benefits to Nampa that we will reap for many years to come.”
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, read more on IdahoPress.com.