Agenda - Charter Commission - 04/23/2014

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Commissioner Zaetsch questioned whether the Commission is here to discuss the proposed Ordinance from the City Council or to discuss whether to move forward with the Niska amendment. Commissioner Deemer stated that he would like to see that the language is amended to remove the double charging as some residents do not have gas service and therefore would not be charged as much as others. He suggested that the language from the proposed Council Ordinance be amended to only apply to electric utilities. He stated that while he does not disagree with the intent of the Niska amendment, he believed that amending the proposed Ordinance would be sufficient and would provide the Commission with a more relaxed atmosphere to discuss the Niska amendment issue. Commissioner Zaetsch stated that in that regard there are a large amount of renters that are using the roads but are not paying property taxes. Chairperson Field noted that the issue of fairness would need to be decided whether it is fair for everyone to pay an equal amount or whether it is fair for the amount to be linked to the value of the property. City Attorney Langel read language from the Connexus Energy Franchise Ordinance which references an equivalent fee requirement and explained that it is outlined that if one utility is billed, the other utility must be billed as well. Commissioner Deemer therefore removed his proposal for compromise off the table since it would not be possible. Chairperson Field made suggestion for creating a compromise between what is desired by the Charter Commission and the City Council. City Attorney Langel referenced the language referring to defraying increased utility costs and stated that while it is not known what that value is, the value would not be sufficient to cover the road improvement costs. He noted that the 20 percent limit may limit what is able to be collected and may not match what is needed. He stated that perhaps a flat fee should be spelled out in the Charter which would provide the funds needed for road improvements. Commissioner Zaetsch stated that perhaps a cap should be placed on the franchise fee ability, which would provide the Council discretion under the set cap amount. He stated that the intent is that this would help to get the roads improved, as the roads are deteriorating and will be worse in the next five years, he questioned if this would come back before the Charter Commission in five years then when this agreement sunsets. Commissioner Deemer stated that he believed that in five years the levy limit would be increased to the point where road improvements could be included in the levy. City Administrator Ulrich confirmed that the intent after the five years would be to build in the road improvement costs into the tax levy and explained that the method utilizing the franchise Charter Commission/ January 27, 2014 Page 6 of 10