[Winona] Franchise Fee Increase

[Bob Sebo]

I always hate hearing phrases like "the ball is now in the court of the media."  The ball is not in the media's court.   The media reports what others do with the ball.     I know that this information has been out since Wednesday.  That is when I first heard about it talking with Gene Pelowski.  That interview was broadcast live and the issue has run heavily on local radio news since then.   Even though the ball is not in my court, I will admit that I missed the ball on this one.  I really did not quite get it.  I asked Speaker Sviggum if there was new local authority for fee increases in the tax bill, and he said no.  Senator Kierlin said the same.  Both interviews were broadcast live and reported on extensively.   Then of course it hits you like a ton of bricks, with the city's release on Friday.  It's not a new authority to tax, it is an untapped existing authority.  Duh.  And once that was figured out it was reported accurately.  And that, to me, is the newsgathering process.  You ask dumb questions until you can ask better questions until you get answers.  As for a dollar amount, Paul, Gene said it was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.   The local papers and the commercial radio and TV stations are doing their best to keep folks informed.  We'll hear how much money the move would raise on Monday, no doubt.  And it will receive prominent attention from the media.   Is the fact that the city council has so far refrained from charging the additional one percent a sign they're trying to keep taxes down?  Or did this current crisis simply cause them to pore over ordinance and statute more closely?  Stay tuned!   Bob Sebo Winona