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nonprofits do not pay taxes. He stated that if the City increases their tax levy to cover the roads <br /> 100 percent by the City, that will push the tax rate of the City out of competition for commercial <br /> and businesses because other cities do not use that method. <br /> Jenn Edison, WSB, stated that at the end of the day, franchise fees are the cheapest financing <br /> method and costs the least amount of dollars to the tax payers. <br /> Councilmember Kuzma asked if this was put on the ballot in Rogers. <br /> Mr. Weiss noted that there were public meetings, but the issue was not placed on the ballot in <br /> Rogers. <br /> Councilmember Johns asked for information on how the meters are charged. <br /> Mr. Weiss identified the different categories. He noted that the City also pays their fair share on <br /> their utility bill. <br /> Councilmember Riley asked if the fee not being tax deductible was discussed in Rogers. <br /> Mr. Weiss replied that most homes are paying $108 per year and therefore that is not much of an <br /> argument. <br /> Councilmember Riley asked if there were comments that this method was regressive, meaning <br /> that typically larger homes pay more taxes. <br /> Mr. Weiss replied that all users use the roads equally and therefore should be charged equally. <br /> He provided a comparison of what users of different property values would typically pay through <br /> franchise fees. He stated that in Rogers they are ahead of their plan for the roads as they are <br /> accomplishing more than they had anticipated. He stated that if you can get ahead of the <br /> projects, that is where you make gains and the cost of maintenance could be lowered. He stated <br /> that if you fall behind on your program, that is where it becomes difficult because then the roads <br /> require more maintenance than originally anticipated, which equates to higher costs. He <br /> explained how the roads are ranked in Rogers in order to get the best return on the investments. <br /> Councilmember Riley asked when the city of Rogers implemented the franchise fees. <br /> Mr. Weiss replied that this will be the fourth year of implementation. He noted that they have <br /> assisted in Brooklyn Park, are helping in Princeton, and noted that Elk River already had <br /> implemented this method. He explained that if you go too far down the road of combined <br /> assessments and taxes, you will be unable to change financing methods. <br /> Councilmember Kuzma asked how the City would handle assessments that have been paid. <br /> Mr. Weiss noted that the City could rebate franchise fees for a number of years for those <br /> residents or could stop those assessments still pending. He noted that it might be a hit the City <br /> has to take but stated that the City's numbers are not that big in terms of owed assessments. He <br /> City Council Work Session /March 27, 2018 <br /> Page 3 of 7 <br />