City Council Votes 4-3 to Approve Reduced Right-of-Way Fee

SAN ANGELO, TX — After much deliberation, the San Angelo City Council approved a reduced monthly right-of-way fee at its Tuesday meeting that will appear on residents’ utility bills for maintenance of streets and sidewalks.

The vote passed by a 4-3 margin with Mayor Tom Thompson voting in favor of it, along with council members Tommy Hiebert, Joe Self and Harry Thomas.

Council members Mary Coffey, Karen Hesse Smith and Patrick Keely voted against it.

The fee was initially proposed to be $15, but it was reintroduced during Tuesday’s second reading at $8.75 per month in response to pushback from some council members and citizens.

The fee will help provide a “dedicated fund for the maintenance of items in the right-of-way including streets, curbing, sidewalks, ADA facilities (such as ramps and crosswalks), signs, signals, striping, alleys and street lighting,” according to the meeting agenda.

The fee will go into effect Oct. 1 and first appear on city water bills Jan. 1, 2027. Schools will pay a half-price rate the first year the fee is in effect.

There will also be special-use categories for San Angelo Regional Airport and Goodfellow Air Force Base.

Businesses will be billed on a nine-tier traffic-demand scale. 

Some council members expressed concern about not handling the situation correctly now, saying future residents and City Councils will have to foot the bill.

Director of Operations Patrick Frerich said the City’s current sealcoating program, which is used to maintain roads, is already projected to carry a backlog of nearly 1 million square yards into 2027.

He said the $8.75 rate won’t cover the entirety of funding needs, but it’s a step in the right direction.