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Politics & Government

New Road Fees on Table in Proposed Budget

Water and Sewer fees could be reduced under budget plan.

To repair some city roads that are in less than ideal condition city staff has proposed a monthly $8 road infrastructure fee on residents.

The fee would be collected every other month and could raise an estimated $1 million per year, City Administrator Bart Olson told council during his budget presentation Tuesday night. Olson said the money would help repair roads like Game Farm Road and Cannonball Road, which are in rough shape.

In December council examined a pavement management program showing that most of the city's 107 miles of city-maintained streets are in good shape, but some were considered in poor shape.

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Olson said it's more efficient to spend the money now on road repairs than wait until the roads worsen.

Olson said municipalities typically collect such vehicle taxes through the use of city stickers. Instead, he said it would be easier to includee the fees in residential utility bills.

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"The road infrastructure fee ordinance would be drafted with the assumption that each household has at least one vehicle, and that each household should pay for a share of road improvements equally," the budget outline states.

Olson said if a resident does not have a vehicle they could come to city hall to sign a form specifying no vehicles are registered to their address.

Having a fee as opposed to a sticker would also save the city money in the long run by not having to waste police man hours performing sticker checks, as well as the cost of the stickers themselves, Olson said. 

In addition to the proposed $8 road fee, staff proposed to reduce water and sewer fees, currently at $8.25 per month per fee, to $4 per month.

If council approves the new fee structure in April, Olson said residents would actually save 50 cents per month, despite the new $8 road fee.

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