CALEXICO, Calif. -- Charging a toll to cross the border. It’s the latest controversy in Calexico. Last week, the city council decided it wasn’t the right time to charge a fee, but isn’t completely ruling the idea out. Some city staff thinks it might help Calexico’s troubled economy, but downtown business owners have mixed reactions on how it will affect their cash flow.

“Well I think it’s not a good idea, because with the earthquake and everything, business hasn't been good,” said store worker Andrew Kim. “Customers aren't going to want to pay a fee to cross over and spend money here. It will hurt business even more.”

Other store owners think it might be something the city should look into. “The city needs to pay its expenses. The city is wearing down physically so they need money to fix that up,” said William Reisen. “I think people who want to come here have decided to come here won't make a decision to stay over there because of a toll. They have their needs and if those needs require them coming to this side of the country, they're going to do that. A toll won't make any difference as far as I know. They're doing it in Texas. Why not here?” he said.

Prices have not been set for the toll yet, but Reisen says whatever the price, customers won’t be excited about the fee. “They're not going to be too happy about it. They're going to feel a little offended they're being taken advantage of. They haven't done anything wrong so why should they have to pay for something that's not their fault?” he said.

Reisen suggests instead of speculating, the city should directly ask the customers about the toll. “I think they should take a poll with the Mexican population somehow and see how they really think about this. You don't want to jump into water that might not be suitable for swimming in.” he said.