Minutes - Council Work Session - 05/28/2019

Home

Finance Director Lund provided additional details on the example policy included in the case that would address properties that have already paid assessments. Councilmember Kuzma asked the consensus of the Council towards moving forward on franchise fees. He stated that a large amount of staff time is being spent on this issue and he would like input from the Council on whether this should continue to move forward. City Administrator Ulrich asked if the Council is at the point where an ordinance should be introduced, noting that there are additional options that could be pursued as well. He stated that additional research could continue to be done as well. Councilmember Kuzma stated that he would like the Council to continue to move forward on the franchise fee. Councilmember Musgrove stated that she still has questions. She stated that part of her issue is that it would not be a part of the property taxes. She stated that she would have concerns with the impact to lower income residents and noted that businesses could also pass that fee onto their customers. Councilmember Heinrich stated that she would be interested in finding out whether this topic could go on the ballot to gain additional input. She acknowledged that there would need to be more education before that could happen. Councilmember Kuzma stated that the City has attempted to educate the public but there has not been much interest from the general public in learning more about the topic. He stated that there is a problem with road funding and as elected officials, a decision will need to be made as to whether the franchise fees are used or whether the property taxes will need to be increased. He believed that it would be difficult to add the property tax increase of 6.46 percent to the annual increases simply for other budgeted items, or to fund roads in that manner. Mayor LeTourneau stated that it appears that there may need to be more discussion on the topic. Finance Director Lund explained that when the previous ordinance regarding franchise fees was adopted, there was a public hearing and the only commenters were commercial properties because of the percentage rate proposed for those properties. 2.03: Membership in Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative 2019 City Administrator Ulrich reviewed the staff report. The consensus of the Council was to drop this membership and instead join the Minnesota Transportation Alliance. City Council Work Session/May 28,2019 Page 6 of 7