Agenda - Council - 05/08/2018 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilmember Johns referenced a property that was paid in full and asked if that credit would remain with the property if the property owner were to move. City Administrator Ulrich stated that staff can further explore options that would be considered more equal but also financially feasible. Councilmember Riley stated that under the franchise fee scenario, the City would still come up short on funding. Finance Director Lund stated that the franchise fee will increase. She stated that the estimates are based on the $4 and $5 fees. She noted that the City would do projects that would be funded to the extent of the funds available. Mayor Strommen stated that franchise fees are collected equally on an annual basis while the road needs are not equal on an annual basis. She stated that eventually there will be a bubble. She noted that the sooner this comes on line, the less of a gap that will be created. She stated that the more roads that can be repaired before the bubble gets bigger, the better. Councilmember Riley stated that it would be important to show residents that there would be a tax cut with this method and these huge increases would be removed from the budget. He stated that the chart in the memorandum could be made more public friendly. Finance Director Lund provided additional details on the intent of the chart. Councilmember Riley stated that if the City continues to travel on the current path, there are increases coming and perhaps showing that this method would remove those large increases would be helpful knowledge for residents to have. He stated that he was hesitant about the deductibility of real estate taxes, noting that franchise fees are not deductible. Councilmember Kuzma stated that when the City attempted to discuss franchise fees in the past, staff did not do a great job with outreach. He stressed the importance of public outreach and to show residents the bubble that is coming with these road costs. Mayor Strommen agreed that a public meeting would be really important. She acknowledged that this is a complicated issue. Finance Director Lund asked if the Council is comfortable with the $4 and $5 fee rates for sharing with the public. Councilmember Riley stated that it would have to be a large enough number to solve the problem. He thought that there has been a study in the past to determine the number that would be needed to solve the problem. Mayor Strommen stated that for the purpose of public discussion, there could be different scenarios shown, using $4 and $5 and identifying the gap that would be left as well as using $7 and $8 and the gap that would fill. City Council Work Session / April 24, 2018 Page 2 of 4