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MINUTES <br />CITY COUNCIL <br />NOVEMBER 29, 2023 <br />T. Miller asked if the City is one of the few that does not charge a gas franchise fee. The City <br />Administrator commented that there are cities that have electric franchise fees without gas franchise <br />fees, but many cities use both. He stated that the proposed gas franchise fee is much lower than other <br />communities that have a similar fee. <br />T. Miller commented that she is in favor of the gas franchise fee. She recognized that any amount of <br />money is significant to people, but this is not a large fee, and the funds will be used for planned <br />projects. She did not believe that levying the funds would be the best option. <br />D. Miller commented that the long-range vision has been a good plan, and this would allow the City to <br />build necessary funds for projects rather than reacting on an annual basis. <br />T. Miller commented that these projects are planned in advance and this set amount would allow the <br />funds to build and fund those projects over time. <br />Gutierrez commented that the Council would have the ability to review the fee on an annual basis and <br />therefore if it was determined the funds were not necessary, the fee could be reduced. <br />Kwapick commented that he is not aware of many places that do not spend available funding. He <br />asked for more details on where the gas and electric franchise fees would be deposited. <br />The Finance Director replied that the electric franchise fee is contributed into Fund 450 and the gas <br />franchise fee would be contributed into Fund 400. He referenced the signage program which had been <br />discussed and would take multiple years, noting that the gas franchise fee could be used to fund that <br />proj ect. <br />Kwapick commented that he believes that the increase to the gas franchise fee is reasonable but has a <br />hard time instituting a new fee in the gas electric fund. He also recognized the increasing demands on <br />Fund 400. <br />D. Miller commented that he also struggles with adding another fee, but this will allow for long-term <br />planning. He noted his suggestion to further review the levy and find potential options to decrease <br />there to ease the burden on residents. <br />The Finance Director stated that he will have options for the Council to review to reduce the budget <br />and levy in the next agenda item. <br />Mayor Fischer commented that he prefers the projects to come through the Council in the manner of <br />strategic planning and annual budgeting. He again reiterated that the City is one of the lowest levy <br />rates in the county and if they further reduce that it could place the City at the bottom. He stated that <br />he would prefer to review projects on an annual basis and budget for them using the levy. <br />D. Miller commented that this gas franchise fee would also be the lowest, which would mean that the <br />City has the lowest fee and lowest levy. <br />1 <br />