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Council discusses $20/month public‑safety fee as a near‑term option
Summary
Councilors and staff weighed a proposal to add a public‑safety fee appended to utility bills as a near-term stabilizer for police and park services; staff estimated a $20/month fee could raise roughly $2 million annually but asked staff for a formal revenue and implementation analysis.
Councilors and staff discussed a concrete near‑term option to stabilize public‑safety funding: a per‑household public‑safety fee added to utility bills.
A council participant presented an illustrative figure: "A $20 a $20 a month's public safety fee... About $2,000,000 a year." The estimate was offered as an example of how fees — which the council can adopt without a voter ballot measure in some forms — could generate meaningful revenue quickly if council authorizes change to the master fee schedule.
Speakers emphasized the need for clear communications if the city pursues a fee: residents need to understand what specific services or positions the fee would support. Staff said further analysis would be required to translate an illustrative amount into a legally defensible fee schedule and to model distributional effects across households.
No formal action was taken; staff were asked to include fee options and revenue projections in a draft strategic plan for council review.
