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Nov 7, 2008 6:57 pm US/Central
Mpls. To Charge Newspapers Fees For Sidewalk Boxes
(WCCO)
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Money from the fees will be used to pay an inspector to ensure the boxes are property maintained.
CBS
At a time when newspaper circulation is at an all time low, Minneapolis is considering a move that would cost them some money.
The city council introduced an ordinance today to require fees for newspaper boxes.
It applies to all news publications' -- free and pay boxes, along with advertising pamphlets.
The proposal has publishers seeing red all over.
The boxes are lined up on corners throughout the city.
"You know they don't really bother me. Every now and then I actually grab The Onion," said St. Louis Park resident Matt Warren.
Boxes filled with free newspapers, state and national papers for sale, and advertisements.
"I like urban environments. It feels urban to me, plus there's some convenience to them. I like to be able to get something like that when I want to," said Warren.
Some consider the boxes an eye sore and a barrier to sidewalk access.
"If I do notice them it's usually because I can't get to the sidewalk from the street," said St. Paul resident Stacy Saunders.
That's part of the reason the city is considering charging for the boxes.
"There'll be a fee, yeah. There'll be a fee imposed, $39 per box, per year," said Minneapolis city councilmember Ralph Remington.
For the free Downtown Journal -- with more than 100 boxes -- that adds up.
"What's it going to do to me if I got to shell out, you know, half a salary on news boxes that I haven't ever had to shell out before? I'm either going to raise my advertising rates or I'm going to lay somebody off," said Downtown Journal publisher Terry Gahan.
Money from the fees will be used to pay an inspector to ensure the boxes are property maintained.
"A lot of these boxes get abandoned, they're graffiti'd, doors are hanging off them," said Remington.
Downtown Journal publishers think a sliding fee scale is more equitable since the paper gives readers valuable information about Minneapolis that advertising magazines don't.
"We'll pay for it, we just shouldn't have to pay as much as people who don't provide that service," said Gahan.
Councilmember Remington said the fee is the same for all publications so that the city doesn't run into any first amendment infringements.
The ordinance also limits boxes to four for every three feet in order to free up sidewalk space.
News stand fees are already in place in St. Paul.
Councilmember Remington said since the fees went into affect, the number of paper boxes was reduced by about a third.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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