Agenda - Council - 07/08/2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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sources of revenue. The City of Ramsey is in pretty good shape because of the Finance Department. Franchise fees are not something that the Council wants to initiate but people expect certain levels of services and the only way to do that is to find some source to cover the short fall. Councilmember Cook pointed out the difference between the City and a private entity is that the City is being faced with more business, but has less money. Councihnember Strommen inquired as to what the timing was for implementing the franchise fee. She questioned if it would be possible for the Council to review the 2004 budget before making any decision on franchise fees. City Administrator Norman explained that they need to implement the franchise fee half way through 2003 to bridge the gap in the fourth quarter of 2003. Finance Officer Lund noted that CenterPoint Energy will need 60 days to implement the fee once it is adopted. The last possible date for the City to act on the issue would be in two weeks. Mr. Reimann stated that maybe the City has to collect franchise fees for a couple of years, but then after that the fee should be eliminated. Councilmember Cook stated that he would not have a problem with limiting the time frame for collecting the franchise fees as well as stating that the City will only collect the funds needed. Councilmember Zimmerman stated that he has never seen a tax go down once it is in place and part of his job is to listen to the residents and for that reason he was not in favor of implementing a fi'anchise fee. Councilmember Kurak stated that she would want to revisit the percentage collected on a six month basis after the franchise fee is initiated as well as include a three year sunset clause. She stated that she was not fan of utility fees, but she did feel it was necessary to get them through a shortfall. Councilmember Strommen stated that this was the first time the residents heard about cuts and she wants to make sure that they take all the time necessary to discuss the issue and make sure the residents are informed. She suggested that they take two more weeks to inform the citizens of what is happening. Councilmember Kurak noted that a member of the Anoka County Union was present and she would be writing an article as well as this meeting being rebroadcast on Cable TV that would assist in providing more information to the residents. She also recommended that the City Administrator provide an update on Cable about the franchise fee and what cuts have been made. City Council/June 24, 2003 Page 18 of 37