Agenda - Council - 07/27/2021 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Kuzma, Councilmembers Riley, Heineman, Howell, Musgrove, Specht, and Woestehoff. Voting No: None. 7.04: Introduce Ordinance #21-16 Repealing Ordinances 20-11, 20-12, and 20-13 in Regard to Franchise Fees City Administrator Ulrich reviewed the staff report. Mayor Kuzma stated that he is very disappointed in bringing this forward for a vote to repeal without going forward with the previously agreed upon discussion that would occur after the budgeting discussion. He stated that in the last election cycle there were several new Councilmembers elected that campaigned against the franchise fee but have never presented a replacement plan. He stated that during the June 22nd worksession it was agreed upon to review all road financing options in an upcoming discussion, even if the franchise fee ended up being the best option. He stated that the Council needs to stop playing politics and start representing the people of Ramsey. He stated that this step is ill conceived without having another funding method in place. He provided background information on the seven year process the Council underwent before enacting the franchise fee, which included gathering information, use of consultants, public meetings, and a study completed by the Charter Commission through the University of Minnesota. He stated that the only city he is aware of that includes all road funding within its levy is Minnetonka and that is not representative of Ramsey. He stated that in terms of road financing there would be four options: to cut the public safety budget, substantially raise taxes, do nothing with the roads and let them return to dirt, or continue with the franchise fees. He noted that the Council took a first look at the budget for 2022 tonight. He stated that he received a number of calls from residents that experienced hardships from assessments. He noted that the City is still paying interest on bonds that were used for road projects in the past, whereas with franchise fees the City pays for improvements as funds are collected rather than acquiring debt. He stated that he will not be supporting this action as he believes it is a mistake. Councilmember Heineman commented that he appreciates the comment about not playing politics but then made statements that police funding would be cut, or roads would be returned to dirt creates a false narrative. He stated that the statement was made that there are several new Councilmembers that are not aware of what they are doing but noted that there are also two members of the Council that were involved in the previous process that also support this action. He noted that when the City reviewed options for road financing which included franchise fee, tax levy, and tax levy and assessment those three options should have had equal time spent reviewing them. He stated that if that happened as it should have, that information should be available. He stated that there are members on the Council that have heard those options and the new members are not uneducated. He stated that the decision would be to look back over those plans and review the options. Mayor Kuzma commented that the review of those options has not happened. Councilmember Heineman commented that the research and preparation would be available. City Council / July 13, 2021 Page 7 of 11