Cedar Rapids to raise fees on electric, gas users

CEDAR RAPIDS - The City Council voted on Tuesday to amend its franchise agreements with Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy Co. to allow the city to increase franchise fees from the current 1 percent to 2 percent on users of electric and natural gas in the city.

The vote was a formality.

Last month, the council included the franchise-fee increase in the budget it approved for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

At the time of the unanimous budget vote last month, city officials said the franchise fee is generating $4.7 million in revenue in the city's current budget year, an amount that will increase to an estimated $8.1 million in the new budget year, city officials said.

The fee revenue goes into the city's annual $110-million general fund budget and has helped the City Council contain property-tax increases.

The city hadn't imposed the fee before 2009.