Derek Little thinks the BID project will be an asset to the city centre and help it capitalise on the rich commercial rewards that will arrive with the £1 billion waterfront redevelopment.
He accused critics of the scheme of misrepresenting the purpose of the partnership between the city council and city centre traders.
The director of Walker’s jewellers in Union Street said: “The Business Improvement District project, if we vote for it, is a mechanism to lock in benchmark council services in the city centre for five years.
“These are services that business in the city centre will enhance through the BID fund which will be raised from members’ levies.
“It is not, and never has been, the case that the BID fund will replace council services, that members will be taking over the funding of services from the council, or that members are paying for council services through their rates and paying for them a second time through their BID levies.
“This is a partnership with the city council, and in my view there is much for businesses to gain from voting to form a BID project in the city centre.
“Dundee is the only major Scottish city that doesn’t have a BID project, and some are about to vote to renew their projects after their original ones have run their course.
“They exist in many parts of the UK, and this is a fantastic opportunity for Dundee to enjoy the success that these projects have delivered elsewhere.
“Dundee can gain so much from the waterfront redevelopment now that the V&A is definitely coming, and I believe city centre businesses can share this success by voting for a BID project.”