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Council considers FPL, solid‑waste and natural‑gas franchise fees as revenue options
Summary
Town staff outlined several revenue alternatives — reinstating a dormant solid‑waste franchise fee, a potential natural‑gas franchise fee capped by state law, and increasing the FPL franchise fee — and council members raised equity questions about impacts on seniors and neighborhoods.
During the workshop Melissa Hernandez presented a menu of revenue options to replace or supplement ad valorem revenue, noting staff is continuing research on expected yields. On the solid‑waste option she said there is an "existing ordinance" that could be reinstated and that the town previously set a 15% fee; staff discussed a hypothetical increase to 20% but said they are still estimating potential revenue. On FPL, Hernandez said Miami Lakes currently charges 3% while most municipalities are at 5.9–6% and that "each percent that we increase is about 500,000" in additional revenue.
Council members asked how revenue from each option would be classified (general fund vs special revenue) and raised concerns about distributional effects. One council member noted the solid‑waste fee would largely affect commercial haulers and some multifamily accounts, while others cautioned that a natural‑gas fee would disproportionately affect older neighborhoods served by gas lines. Council member (transcript speaker) said candidly, "I'm I'm still a no on that" when discussing the FPL franchise fee increase and emphasized protecting residents on fixed incomes. Staff committed to returning with more precise revenue estimates and demographic breakdowns before the council sets a final stance.
