ERMUSR HANDOUT 04-13-2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

~+r :i L~ca~ Nevus c t r city c ~~ ~ rv ~~ t 3/29/2U1U 9:24:11. RM Comments X13) by Matt Russell The Pest-bulletin, Rochester MN The Rochester City Council appears ready tv create a community lighting fee that would shift the costs of Ilghting~streets, sidewalks, and trails away from properly taxes. The fee, estimated to be $1,95 per month for residences, could start either Sept, 1 ar Dct, 1, The council gave informal approval to the idea at a committee of the whole meeting Monday and will vats April 5 vn whether to approve an ordinance allowing the fee, Starting in 2Q11, khe fee would shift the roughly $1,3 million cost of operating street, sidewalk and trail lights from the city's general fund to a surcharge added to monthly Rochester Public Ukllitles electric bills far residences, businesses and nonprofit arganizatlans, More Immediately, establishing the utility fee this fall wnuid plug a $318,paU gap In the X010 budget that the council opened by using money from the community lighting fund to pay for Firing four police officers and one prosecution assistant A maJor advantage of the fee down the road Is that It pratecks funds for community lighting Pram budget ups and downs caused by factors such as state- impased levy limits and Local Government Ald payments, said City Administrator Steve Kvenvald, At the same time, he said, it frees money in the general fund to be used for public safety yr ether purposes, City staff members have been researching the idea of a street light utility fee since ZDp3, The council discussed the idea an Oct, 26, roughly a month before hundreds of residents gathered at a meeting In Rochester calling for a stronger police presence in the city, "It's a community thing," he said, A final vote aukhorizing the fee will likely came this summer, after a study of electrical service costs Is completed by RPU,