Monroe council adopts $5,000 interim application fee for utility and telecommunications franchise reviews

The Monroe City Council on April 22 adopted an interim $5,000 application review fee for utility and telecommunications franchise agreements to allow the city to recoup staff and consultant costs for reviewing proposals.

City staff member Liam McCorkle told the council that the Monroe Municipal Code (chapter 5.54) requires applicants to submit an application and a review fee, but council had not adopted a resolution specifying the fee amount when the ordinance was passed in 2022. McCorkle said the proposed $5,000 fee reflects expected staff and legal hours for reviewing applications, preliminary meetings, drafting and negotiating a franchise template, and preparing materials for council consideration, and that it is “consistent with what a lot of most other cities are charging.”

Councilmember Beaumont moved to approve Resolution 2025-010 adopting the interim application review fee; Councilmember Fulcher seconded. The council voted 7–0 to approve the resolution.

Council discussion at the meeting was brief and focused on comparability to other cities and the rationale for setting a fee now to allow the city to process anticipated applications. The resolution sets the fee as an interim administrative amount for franchise application reviews; staff did not present a proposed permanent fee schedule at the meeting.