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Mayor Strommen stated the assessments currently used by the City have limitations in the <br />Charter. <br />Commissioner Deemer stated the Charter Commission should not be dealing with the City <br />budget. <br />Mayor Strommen stated the focus of the meeting is funding mechanisms in general, not how to <br />generate money. <br />Mr. Hendricksen stated the Charter Commission and City Council will need to support any <br />possible funding mechanism for it to go through. He added there will probably be two special <br />elections, if that is the course that it taken by the City. <br />Councilmember Riley stated a pro of franchise fees is that they are a dedicated restricted source <br />of funds. <br />Councilmember Tossey stated, in order to provide some background information, that the <br />Charter Commission called a special meeting on this subject, and they have provided a <br />recommendation to the City Council for discussion and possible approval. <br />Mr. Hendricksen stated that a con of franchise fees is that it is the same source of funding, and <br />comes out of residents' pockets. <br />Chairperson Field stated it has the same effect on the resident. <br />Mr. Hendricksen agreed. <br />Commissioner Niska stated the Charter Commission passed a proposed amendment to restrict the <br />power of the City to charge a franchise fee for general revenue - raising purposes. He added a con <br />against franchise fees would be that it is not transparent to citizens the same way that their <br />property tax is transparent. <br />Mr. Hendricksen agreed, adding there is no guarantee that it will be equitable. <br />Mayor Strommen stated the proposal for franchise fees has limitations as the Council does not <br />want an unlimited funding source. She added they would be dedicated for roads, and limited in <br />monthly amount. She noted the Charter Commission wanted to limit the franchise fee language <br />in the Charter, but they did not intend to decide whether funding generated by franchise fees <br />would replace assessments. <br />Commissioner Bendtsen stated there might be a funding source other than franchise fees that <br />would generate the same amount of money. <br />Mayor Strommen stated the decision of how to provide funding is a budget issue, and from a <br />constitutional standpoint, the Council should have a mechanism in place with certain limitations <br />in the Charter. <br />City Council Work Session / November 19, 2013 <br />Page 6 of 15 <br />