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sources of ~eve;nue. The City of Ramsey is in pretty good shape because of the Finance <br />Department. Ft, anchise fees are not something that the Council wants to initiate but people <br />expect certa n ld, vels of services and the only way to do that is to find some source to cover the <br />short fall. <br /> <br />Councilmem ber !Cook pointed out the difference between the City and a private entity is that the <br />City is being faced with more business, but has less money. <br /> <br />Councilmen~ er iStrommen inquired as to what the timing was for implementing the franchise <br />fee. She qu~stigned if it would be possible for the Council to review the 2004 budget before <br />making any decision on franchise fees. <br /> <br />City Admini~strat,.or Norman explained that they need to implement the franchise fee half way <br />through 2003~ to bridge the gap in the fourth quarter of 2003. <br /> <br />Finance OffiCer ~Lund noted that CenterPoint Energy will need 60 days to implement the fee once <br />it is adopted, f Th~ last possible date for the City to act on the issue would be in two weeks. <br /> <br />Mr. Reimanri staged that maybe the City has to collect franchise fees for a couple of years, but <br />then after tha th~ fee should be eliminated. <br />Councilmeml)er Cook stated that he would not have a problem with limiting the time frame for <br />collecting the franchise fees as well as stating that the City will only collect the funds needed. <br /> <br />Councilmem§er Zimmerman stated that he has never seen a tax go down once it is in place and <br />part of his jo~ is ~o listen to the residents and for that reason he was not in favor of implementing <br />a franchise feB. ~ <br /> <br />Councilmeml~er~ gurak stated that she would want to revisit the percentage collected on a six <br />month basis 4fter,~the franchise fee is initiated as well as include a three year sunset clause. She <br />stated that sh~Tw~s not fan of utility fees, but she did feel it was necessary to get them through a <br />shortfall. <br /> <br />Councilmeml~er $trommen stated that this was the first time the residents heard about cuts and <br />she wants to tnal4_e sure that they take all the time necessary to discuss the issue and make sure <br />the residents ~re ~nformed. She suggested that they take two more weeks to inform the citizens <br />of what is hap~emng. <br /> <br />Councilmemb <br />would be wril <br />assist in prov <br />Administrator <br />made. <br /> <br />er Kurak noted that a member of the Anoka County Union was present and she <br />ingian article as well as this meeting being rebroadcast on Cable TV that would <br />ding more information to the residents. She also recommended that the City <br />provide an update on Cable about the franchise fee and what cuts have been <br /> <br />City Council/June 24, 2003 <br />Page 18 of 37 <br /> <br /> <br />