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Wednesday, October 23, 2013

RAMSEY - FRANCHISE FEES - City staff presented a Q-&-A post.

This link. Here is one of general interest:

4. Can the City exempt properties that don’t front a city street from the franchise fee?
Response:
All residential properties would need to pay the franchise fee to the utilities, but the City could, by policy, give annual rebates to certain types of properties. This is not included in the current proposal. If the City exempts or reduces the franchise fee on some properties by giving a rebate, overall revenue would decrease, or the fee would need to be increased on other properties as an offset.

This might relate closest to a public hearing concern expressed for hardships possible for retirees on fixed income in group homes who do not own autos or drive but might have individually metered utility accounts. Awareness of the concern is implicit in that answer.

One item that particularly reassured me that wisdom will prevail:

17. Is the repair and maintenance of the street based upon a schedule or the condition of the road?
Response:
Repair and maintenance of any particular road section will be based upon the road condition as determined by an annual inspection, not by a fixed schedule.