AgdaPkt 2017-05-08 Joint SA PFA - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

On February 27, 2017, the City Council held a Study Session to review the first phase of the Fee Study, including Community Development, Fire, and Police fees. The City Council provided feedback on the proposed Fee Schedule and preferred cost recovery levels, and requested that staff conduct public outreach efforts related to the proposed Fee Schedules. Members of the City Council and the public expressed concerns about fees related to small businesses, homeowners, historic preservation and non-profit agencies. Fees being recommended now have been modified from the fees presented in February in order to address these concerns. These adjustments are described in more detail below. Additionally, the proposed resolution provides for annual adjustments to moderate the impact of increasing costs in the future, a topic raised both by Councilmembers and during public outreach. At the City Council’s request, staff also have analyzed the total costs (including Impact and In-Lieu Fees) per square foot for the most typical development project scenarios, comparing Redwood City’s proposed fees with other jurisdictions. The results of that analysis are below as well. The second phase of the Fee Study is currently underway, and focuses on fees provided by Administrative Services, City Clerk, Library Services, Parks, Recreation and Community Services, and Public Works. This phase is anticipated to be presented to the City Council in June 2017. ANALYSIS The City’s user fees have not been updated since 2005 for Building, 2006 for Planning, 2011 for the Fire Department, and 2002 for the Police Department. Over the past several years, the cost of providing services has increased significantly due to increases in employee salaries and benefits and other operating costs; however, most fees have not been updated to match these rising costs. It is a best practice that user fees be established for services that provide individual or group benefits at a level that will recover up to, but not more than, the cost of providing the service. When comparing fee-related annual costs in Fiscal Year 2016-17 with fee- related revenue generated in Fiscal Year 2015-16, the City is under-recovering revenue related to services provided by approximately $2.0 million per year. This is illustrated in the below chart. 8.B. - Page 2