TITLE
Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, conclude the hearing, and adopt resolution amending the Master Fee and Charges Schedule for specified City services for the City Clerk, City Prosecutor, Community Development, Development Services, Library Services, Parks, Recreation and Marine, Police, and Public Works Departments. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
On January 22, 2008, as part of the quarterly fee adjustment process for Fiscal Year 08 (FY 08), the City Council approved an updated Master Fee and Charges Schedule for specified City services. The basis for this schedule of fees and charges is the Fee Study, which was originally recommended by the Budget Oversight Committee and commissioned by the City Council on June 3, 2004, to complete a cost accounting of the most significant City services and their related user fees. Actual costs are updated annually to ensure full cost recovery for the City's services.
One of the findings of the Fee Study was that the City's process to offset its costs to provide fee-based services did not provide for an inflationary adjustment or other cost growth factors.
Thus, some fees remained unchanged for decades resulting in a significant unintended subsidy, which was only addressed when a fee came back before the City Council. To provide a methodology to keep pace with current costs, a mechanism to allow changes to the City's fee structure became necessary. City staff will continue to bring proposed fee adjustments on an ongoing basis to keep fees up to date. Attached are requested changes to the Master Fee and Charges Schedule for the Second Quarter of FY 08. Please see Attachment A for a List of Proposed Fee Adjustments.
Proposed changes in the Master Fee and Charges Schedule involve several factors as follows:
FY 08 Adopted Budget Implementation: On September 11, 2007, the City Council adopted the FY 08 budget including the Financial Policy on User Fees and Charges, which reads:
"The City of Lon...
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