Newtons Franchise Fee Podcast with Mayor Randy Ervin and Mary Watters

The proposed franchise fee for the city of Newton has become a highly emotional issue for many in Newton. This is understandibly so in that property taxes are already high and now the city wants to tack on what is conisdered another tax to the citizens that many feel is unfair. However the city counters that by saying that because their hands are tied because of the state legislature they are going to have to find other sources for revenue otherwise they are going to have to cut city services if more funding isn't available. The 3rd reading of the proposed franchise fee is coming up at Monday's Newton City Council meeting and the City Council chambers once again will no doubt have overflow crowds of folks venting their frustrations. Because of this I brought two people together on both sides of the issue to discuss the franchise fees. Mayor Randy Ervin who is a proponent of the fees and Mary Watters who is against the fees. At my suggestion Mary asked for questions on Facebook to ask the Mayor for this podcast. Normally my podcast will go no longer than 30 minutes but the entire length of the interview went just over 50 minutes. We not only discussed the franchise fees but also got into the lawsuits the city has had to deal with and the AU chemical plant which at one point had thought to be a sure thing but now seems to be somewhat in jepordy. The Mayor also teases us with some good news coming for the Newton City Council meeting for Monday night in this podcast. Normally I would also have a video attached to my podcast but because of the length of the podcast I skipped the video this time.