Pages

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

RAMSEY - City Council will further consider franchise fee matters in a work session and a televised meeting.

Access the city website for meeting agendas.

The work session, being untelevised, is probably the meeting those caring about the franchise fee issue should consider attending in person. It starts at 5:30 pm and is scheduled for 90 min, so that the regular televised council meeting can start at 7 pm. It appears there will be no HRA meeting, as no agenda has been posted.

The televised session has a franchise ordinance and a franchise fee ordinance, and perhaps the order between agenda items 7.2 and 7.1 should be reversed. 7.2 is for consideration of the fee imposition ordinance.

The Charter Commission has met. Results of that meeting may be discussed by council.

Everybody, keep an open mind. This council is sound in that the holdover pair, Backus and Tossey, were not those driving the auto over the cliff, last council. They in different ways realized the car had brakes. Those losing the last election and being replaced at mayor, Wart 2, and at large by Strommen, Kuzma, and Latourneau respectively were the ones who only knew the accelerator pedal, and mishandled the steering wheel.

Cut staff and this council slack as they wrestle with the mess this council inherited and how to fund road upkeep. They each are well intentioned, while policy opinions among them differ to varying degrees.

The one thing that appears potentially corrosive would be if the franchise fee question is made into a partisan political football for the 2014 election, via a Charter question. Any Charter question can be resolved before that, by special election.