Kragnes v. City of Des Moines

WIGGINS, Justice.

A citizen of the city of Des Moines brought an action against the city alleging the franchise fees the city assessed in its franchise agreements for gas and electric power services are illegal taxes. Both parties moved for summary judgment on this issue. The district court found the franchise fees were illegal taxes and enjoined the city from collecting the fees. Although we continue to adhere to our view that any franchise fee charged by a city must be reasonably related to the city’s administrative expenses in the exercise of its police power in order not to constitute an…