I know I need to verify franchise fee percentages against the city ordinance but I'm struggling to actually find these documents. I've tried googling for franchise agreements and get nothing useful. Called two city halls and got transferred around endlessly. What's the efficient way to get franchise agreements?
How to get the actual city ordinance to verify franchise fee percentage
A few approaches that work for me. First, try the city clerk's office directly — not the main number, but specifically the clerk. They maintain all official city records including franchise agreements. Second, many cities post their municipal code online through services like Municode or American Legal Publishing. Search the municipal code for "franchise" and you'll often find the enabling ordinance even if the full agreement isn't posted. Third, file a public records request. It sounds formal but in most states you can do it by email in two sentences: "Pursuant to [state public records act], I request a copy of the franchise agreement between [city] and [utility]." They have to respond within a set timeframe.
One shortcut — call the utility's government affairs or regulatory department, not customer service. The utility negotiated the franchise agreement and they have copies of every one. I've gotten franchise agreements from Georgia Power, Duke Energy, and Dominion just by emailing their regulatory affairs contact and asking. They're not secret documents. The utility has no incentive to hide them because the franchise fee is a pass-through — they collect it and remit it to the city. They're usually happy to provide the information.
All great approaches. I'd add one more: check the state PUC website. In many states, franchise agreements must be filed with the PUC as part of the utility's tariff or as a separate filing. The PUC's online document repository may have copies going back decades. For Texas, the PUC's interchange database has franchise fee information for every municipality. For Georgia, check the PSC's docket search. Once you find one franchise agreement for a utility, you'll learn the format and know what to look for across all of that utility's service territory.
The public records request worked perfectly. Emailed the city clerk on Monday, had the franchise agreement in my inbox by Wednesday. Now I can see the authorized percentage is 3% and the bill shows 4.5%. Filing the claim tomorrow. Thanks everyone.