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After mixed feedback, staff recommend pausing natural‑gas franchise fee and propose small pilots
Summary
Staff summarized outreach on a possible natural‑gas franchise fee: about 61% of participants expressed conditional support but affordability and equity concerns were widespread. Staff recommended shelving a citywide fee now and asked the council to fund 1–2 pilots (under ~$150,000) to test targeted energy‑savings programs first.
City sustainability staff recommended on Wednesday that Rochester not pursue a citywide natural‑gas franchise fee at this time, citing conditional community support, affordability worries and unresolved questions about equitable treatment of renters and small businesses.
"Our recommendation is to not pursue a natural gas franchise fee at this time," Kayla Keilar, a member of the sustainability team, told the council, summarizing community engagement results. Staff reported more than 50 engagement activities from December through March, more than 3,000 people reached and about 200 survey responses. When aggregated,…
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