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• Q: So, under franchise fees, the apartments would increase the tax base for road funding? <br />• A: Yes, because right now apartment complexes are treated more like commercial properties, <br />and under franchise fees, they'd pay the same fee as other residential properties. <br />• Q: If you have a property and you have an out building, how do the meters work? <br />• A: You usually have just one meter per property. If, for example, a farmer has another meter, <br />sometimes a city will work it out where they're not paying for the other meter. <br />• Q: Does the franchise fee money go into a dedicated fund? <br />• A: Yes, they go into a specific use fund. <br />• Q: Can you speak to how franchise fees affect other institutions in our city? <br />• A: Under a franchise fee system, everyone pays — churches, non -profits, etc. <br />• Q: Why do they want to put the fee on both gas and electric? A lot of people don't have gas. <br />• A: If you only put it on electric, the gas company will often claim unfairness. <br />• Q: Are the utilities allowed to tack on a fee for administration of the franchise fee? <br />• A: Generally, no. They pay the city on a quarterly basis, so they have a chance to accrue some <br />interest. <br />• Q: You indicate the levy is less competitive, so you must acknowledge that the franchise fee has <br />the same issue. <br />• A: For a business it can be much less costly, and the business community likes the consistency, <br />so we do not find franchise fees to be an issue for competitiveness. <br />• Q: Is it possible to have a franchise fee where the expensive houses pay more than the smaller <br />ones? <br />• A: No, because the electric and gas companies will only keep track of it based on the meter size. <br />• Q: If this franchise fee went in today, would tomorrow every assessment be done? <br />• A: Typically, you'd pay the franchise fee but there would be a rebate process for current <br />assessments. We would still have to work out those details. <br />• Q: Under the franchise fee, churches are included? <br />• A: Yes, since they have meters. <br />• Q: If the apartment buildings have meters, every tenant pays the same as someone on a big lot? <br />• A: Yes. <br />• Q: If the franchise fee were put in place, how is the transition handled while the money starts to <br />pool up? <br />