So the association wants to find more permanent revenue-raising strategies besides its one-time promotional events like "Destination Willow Glen," which was designed to bring more business into the downtown area.

The association, however, still relies heavily on the Business Improvement District fees—which retailers and property owners on Lincoln Avenue between Minnesota and Coe avenues pay to the city as part of their business license renewal—but decided to forgo asking the city to raise the fee for the upcoming fiscal year.

"It's a long process to increase BID fees," said Willow Glen Business and Professional Association executive director Norma Ruiz.

The process can take a year because of the significant amount of planning in determining the increase that each merchant or property owner would pay, she said. There also needs to be a good dialogue between the businesses and the association so they known what's going on.

San Jose City Council established the Willow Glen Business Improvement District in 1983.

According to Ruiz, the cost is $120 for nonretail, $240 for retail and $500 for banks. This equates to about $55,000 per year. But it is not enough revenue to cover the costs of all the promotional events and activities during the year.

Ruiz said the association has been researching different fundraising ideas and plans to hold a strategic meeting this summer to sort out its various options.

She said parking meters and becoming a Property Based Improvement District (PBID) are several ideas that will be discussed. PBIDs are assessment fees based solely on property ownership, which would change the way the district obtains its fees.

Finding the right solutions won't be easy, Ruiz says, but it's critical to the solvency of the association, which on a yearly basis struggles to break even.