Town postpones franchise fee

Carbon Power and Light (CP&L) will not have to pay a franchise fee to the town of Saratoga.

At the July 15 town council meeting Saratoga Mayor John Zeiger asked for an amendment to eliminate the 4 percent fee in the proposed franchise fee agreement. Instead, Zeiger proposed the franchise agreement would go forward with the stipulation of review in 2016.

The CP&L franchise fee has received an enormous amount backlash from Saratoga residents and business owners. The fee would have charged the co-operative power company, which provides electricity to most of the Platte Valley, a 4 percent fee to use town utilities.

When the franchise fee was first proposed at the May 6 council meeting, CP&L general manager Chuck Larsen explained the fee charged by the town of Saratoga would have to be passed on to the customers. The fee would have increased the monthly bill for the average customer anywhere between $2.80 to $7.01 a month.

After hearing comments and concerns from the public, Zeiger said he was swayed by Saratoga Forest Management owner Gary Ervin. Zeiger had reportedly called Ervin on July 11 to ask how the franchise fee would economically impact to the sawmill. Ervin told the mayor it would not put his company out of business, but the fee would have stunted the sawmill’s development on several projects.

Zeiger was also in discussions with CCSD#2 Superintendent Jim Copeland asking how it would impact the school district budget.

It was after those conversations Zeiger decided the increased power fees would be too much for local businesses.

The proposed amendment will not entirely dismiss the franchise fee.

“In two years, whoever is sitting on the council can revisit the franchise fee … and see where they want to go from there,” Zeiger said.

Other town council members supported the amendments to the agreement as well. Councilwoman Judy Welton said this was not the right time to impose more fees on business owners in Saratoga.

“I heartily agree [with Zeiger], and I think that this is a good decision,” Welton said.

Councilman Mike McWain, who voted against drafting the franchise fee agreement, responded to the elimination of the fee by saying “I love it”.

Councilman Steve Wilcoxson had defended the franchise fee on numerous occasions. Even though he still believes the franchise fee is still the most viable option for generating revenue, he said he had to follow the people’s wishes.

“I support the franchise fee, but as an elected official, I have to put the people I represent in front of my own opinion.”

The amendment was passed unanimously by the council.

Larsen thanked the council for their decision.

“On behalf of our member-owners of the co-operative, we thank you for that change,” Larsen said.

Several residents who have been adamantly against the franchise fee applauded the mayor and council for their decision. One of those residents was Leon Hetherington, who said the elected officials were “living up to oath” they took when they assumed office.

Business owner Chris Shannon commended the town council for their decision as well. Shannon recommended the place to fix budget shortfalls, is to cut spending.

While eliminating the franchise fee frees residents of increased electricity bills, there is still a large hole in the budget left to be filled.

In the 2014/2015 fiscal budget, the town of Saratoga budgeted for $299,600.00 in revenue to come from franchise fees. This is more than a quarter-million dollar increase from last year’s revenues.

In the days following the franchise fee agreement decision, Zeiger said he had met with the department heads to start cutting budgets.

Though an exact number has yet to be released, Zeiger said budget cuts had been successful thus far, and every department had made significant cuts.

A budget amendment will be proposed at a later meeting, Zeiger said.

The next town council meeting will take place at 6 p.m. on Aug. 6 at Saratoga Town Hall.