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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us October 13, 2005 AFN fee protesters can go three months By Vickie Aldous Ashland Daily Tidings Residents who refuse to pay the $7.50 Ashland Fiber Network fee on their city electric bills will have their electricity cut off in the fourth month that they do not pay, according to Ashland Finance Director Lee Tuneberg. When an electric customer is $25 in arrears, city staff hang a flier on the customer’s door warning him or her to pay the past-due bill, Tuneberg said. “They have 72 hours to make arrangements before being cut off,” he said. A customer who does not pay the AFN fee will be behind by $22.50 in three months and by $30 in the fourth month, triggering the city action at that time. The fee took effect this month after the Ashland City Council voted to add the charge now and also raise cable television rates in January in order to meet AFN’s $15.5 million debt payments. Last week, resident Ann Marie Hutson presented a petition to the council she said had been signed by more than 300 people opposed to the fee. She said about one-quarter of those people said they did not intend to pay the fee. The Tidings also has received letters to the editor from people saying they will not pay the fee and urging others to do likewise. If the city does not collect the fee, it will fall short of the goal to raise enough revenues to cover the debt payments. The city did budget $500,000 this fiscal year from the electric department as a subsidy for AFN. The city council could tap into that budgeted amount, but that would cause electric department funds to drop, Tuneberg said. Low-income residents who need help paying their electric bills can apply to the Ashland Low-Income Energy Assistance Program. To request an application packet, call 552-2038 and leave a name and address. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams