TITLE
Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, conclude the public hearing, and adopt resolution amending the Master Fee and Charges Schedule for specified City services for the Departments of City Clerk, City Prosecutor, Community Development, Financial Management, Gas and Oil, Fire, Health and Human Services, Library Services, Parks, Recreation and Marine, Planning and Building, Police, and Public Works. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
On September 11, 2007, as part of the adoption of the Fiscal Year 08 (FY 08) Budget, the City Council approved a Master Fee and Charges Schedule for specified City services for the Departments of City Clerk, City Prosecutor, Community Development, Financial Management, Gas and Oil, Fire, Health and Human Services, Library Services, Parks, Recreation and Marine, Planning and Building, Police, and Public Works. In general, the basis for this schedule of fees and charges was the Fee Study, which was originally recommended by the Budget Oversight Committee and commissioned by the City Council on June 3, 2004, when a contract was entered into with a consultant to complete a cost accounting of the most significant City's user fee services. Actual costs are updated annually to ensure cost recovery decisions are based on the most current costs.
One of the outcomes of the Fee Study was an understanding that the City's process to offset its costs to provide fee-based services did not provide for increasing costs due to inflation or other cost factors. Thus, some fees remained unchanged for decades resulting in a significant subsidy, which was only addressed when a fee came back before the City Council. In order to provide a methodology to keep pace with current costs, a mechanism to allow changes to the City's fee structure was necessary. City staff will continue to bring proposed fee adjustments on an ongoing basis in order to keep fees up to date. Please see Attachment A for a Summary of Key Proposed Fee Adjustments ...
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