City of Decorah is inching closer to getting a franchise agreement with Alliant Energy

All seven members of the Decorah City Council on Monday night attended a meeting of the council's Utilities Committee called to work further on the wording of a franchise agreement with Alliant Energy.

The committee reviewed a draft copy of the franchise agreement, with much of the discussion centering on what language to include which would allow the city to opt out of the franchise agreement if a future municipal electric utility referendum is approved by voters.

The current draft of the agreement between Alliant and the City of Decorah calls for an opt-out after three years, seven years and 12 years of the 15-year contract.  Utiliies Committee members want to add language which explicitly says the city can opt out of the contract if a municipal utility is approved.

There was also a discussion of how to handle the franchise fee which can be added to electrical bills to cover costs--a surcharge of somewhere up to five percent.  Committee members felt a two percent franchise fee would not have an adverse economic impact, especially since legislation passed last year by the Iowa Legislature reduced the energy efficiency charges added to electric bills.

The proposed language changes will now be reviewed by City Attorney John Anderson and then sent on to Alliant Energy for a response.