Agenda - Council - 10/13/2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Councilmember Musgrove stated that she would like to eliminate a portion of the last statement, as she does not believe it is accurate. She believed the sentence should end at "benefiting properties". Finance Director Lund explained the reason the statement was included. Members of the Council and staff provided alternate suggestions for the language of that sentence. City Administrator Ulrich explained the intent of the statement, noting that there are multiple ways to convey that. Councilmember Musgrove stated that she prefers less language to provide a more concise and less convoluted statement. Mayor LeTourneau stated that the statement addresses the concern with the potential of double taxing. He stated that the intent would be to explain that this would replace one funding source with another. Finance Director Lund explained that special assessments only covered 25 percent of the cost of road improvements, therefore if the remainder of the sentence is removed, that does not explain the other 75 percent of the funding that was used for that funding method. Councilmember Riley suggested adding the word anticipated, that this "is anticipated to eliminate". Councilmember Musgrove agreed that would be more truthful. Councilmember Riley suggested having different letters for business and residential customers. Finance Director Lund asked if the Council would like to have the letter included with the utility billing or as a separate letter. She commented that some customers receive billing electronically and therefore staff would not be able to differentiate between the customer type. Councilmember Riley commented that he would like to see the information specific to the type of customer to make the information more applicable and clearer. Councilmember Musgrove stated that she has received questions from residents as to what businesses will be paying and believed that all the information should be included in one letter. She believed that people would be able to read and understand the portion that applies to them. Councilmember Kuzma stated that he would support the separate letter method differentiating between residential and commercial customers. Finance Director Lund stated that she could move the residential portion to the top, which would make it easier for that information to be found and differentiate between the two. City Council Work Session / September 22, 2020 Page 2 of 9