2003-911
CITY OF HOPKINS
Hennepin County, Minnesota
ORDINANCE NO. 2003-911
UTILITY FRANCHISE FEE ORDINANCE
AN ORDINANCE IMPOSING A GAS UTILITY FRANCHISE FEE ON CENTERPOINT
ENERGY MINNEGASCO, A DVISION OF CENTERPOINT ENERGY RESOURCES
CORPORATION, A DELAWARE CORPORATION, ITS SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS,
PURSUANT TO CITY OF HOPKINS FRANCHISE ORDINANCE 2002-879
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HOPKINS DOES HEREBY ORDAIN:
702.01. DEFINITIONS. For purposes of this Ordinance, the following capitalized terms shall
have the following meanings:
Subd. 1. City. The City of Hopkins, County of Hennepin, State of Minnesota.
Subd. 2. Company. CenterPoint Energy Minnegasco, a division of CenterPoint Energy
Resources Corporation, a Delaware corporation, its successors and assigns.
702.03. Purpose. The Hopkins City Council has determined that franchise fees should be
imposed on gas and electric utilities in return for their use of City-owned rights-of-way. The
purpose of this ordinance is to establish such franchise fees to be paid to the City by the
Company.
702.05. City Authority. Minnesota Statutes 2l6B.36 grants cities the authority to impose a
franchise fee on gas and electric utility services. Such fees are in return for basic right to operate
within municipally-owned rights-of-way and other public property as provided in utility
franchise agreements/ordinances between a city and the respective utilities operating within the
municipal boundaries. In addition, City of Hopkins Franchise Ordinance 2002-879 authorizes
the City to impose, by separate ordinance, a franchise fee on the Company.
702.07. Franchise Fee Imposed. A franchise fee is hereby imposed on the Company,
CenterPoint Energy Minnegasco, pursuant to City of Hopkins Franchise Ordinance 2002-879
and Milmesota Statutes 216B.36 and subject to the fee schedule below.
A franchise Fee is to be collected by the Company from each customer in the designated
customer classification for service at each and every customer premise, as indicated by the
following schedule:
Customer Classification
Residential
Commercial A
Commercial/Industrial B
Commercial/Industrial C
Small Dual Fuel A
Small Dual Fuel B
Large Volume Dual Fuel
Fee Schedule
Mouthly Fee Per Customer Premise
$1.00
$1.00
$3.00
$9.00
$18.00
$63.00
$63.00
This fee is an account-based fee on each premise and not a meter-based fee. In the event that a
customer of the company covered by this ordinance has more than one meter at a single premise,
but only one account, only one fee shall be assessed to that account. If a premise has two or
more meters for a single customer billed at different rates, the Company may have an account for
each rate classification, which will result in more than one franchise fee assessment for gas
service to that premise. Ifthe Company combines the rate classifications into a single account,
the franchise fee assessed to the account will be the largest franchise fee applicable to a single
rate classification for energy delivered to that premise. In the event any customer of the
Company covered by this ordinance has more than one premise, each premise (address) shall be
subject to the applicable fee. In the event a question arises as to the proper fee amount for any
premise, the Company's manner of billing for energy used at all similar premises in the city will
control.
702.09. Date Franchise Fee Takes Effect. The above utility franchise fees shall go into effect
in and be applicable to all of the Company's billings commencing with bills for the month of
February 2004.
702.11. Payment of Fee. Franchise fees shall be paid to the City quarterly, based on a calendar
year, with payment due by the 30th day after the end of each quarter. The first such payment will
be for the first quarter of2004 and will be due April 30, 2004.
702.13. Dispute. Any disputes or other issues which arise will be subject to the terms ofthis
Ordinance, Franchise Ordinance 2002-879, Minnesota Statutes 261B.36 as well as any other
agreements entered into by the City and the Company.
702.15. Termination of Ordinance. This ordinance and the franchise fee imposed by it shall
remain in effect until December 31, 2005, at which time they shall terminate and be of no further
effect, except that the Company shall remain obligated after that date to pay the City all franchise
fees due with respect to any period of time prior to December 31,2005, and collected after that
date.
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First Reading: November 18, 2003
Second Reading: December 2, 2003
Date of Publication:
Date Ordinance Takes Effect: December 2, 2003
ATTEST:
-.
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY:
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