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CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO - REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION
From: Fred Wilson, City Administrator
Subject: Set a public hearing to
consider a resolution adjusting various
fees
Dept: City Administrator's Office
Date: July 15, 2003 t <<J) ~
Synopsis of Previous Council Action:
July 1999 - Council adopts a master fee resolution updating various fees
September 25, 2002 - Ways and Means Committee recommends approval of various fee adjustments.
November 18, 2002 - Council opens the public hearing, and continues the hearing until December 2,
2002.
December 3, 2002 - Public hearing is closed; item is continued until February 3, 2003
February 3, 2003 - The matter is tabled; Council directs that proposed fees be considered during the
budget process
June 12, 2003 - Council sets the public hearing for June 30, 2003
June 30, 2003 - Item is tabled.
Recommended motion:
That the Mayor and Common Council set a public hearing for Mo
p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers to consider adjusting v .
Contact person: Lori Sassoon
Phone: 384-5122
Supporting data attached: Staff report
Ward: All
FUNDING REQUIREMENTS:
Amount: Net additional revenue of approximately $300,000 for
FY 2003-04
Source: (Accl. No.) Various
(Accl. Description) Various
Finance:
Council Notes:
7/;)../103_
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STAFF REPORT
Subiect:
Motion to set a public hearing to consider a resolution adjusting various fees.
Backl!round and Overview:
Fees for service, otherwise called user fees, must be calculated by determining the actual cost of
the services provided. The last comprehensive user fee update was approved by the Mayor and
Council in July 1999. In the four years that have passed since the last update, various costs for
providing services (such as salaries, benefits, and utilities costs) have increased. In light of those
increases, all departments were asked to evaluate their user fee schedules and provide
information concerning potential fee updates.
At a Ways and Means Committee meeting in Spring 2002, staff presented a list of potential fee
updates for the consideration of the Committee. The Committee recommended that staff proceed
with the user fee and other fee updates. Since that time, affected departments have been working
to complete the necessary cost analysis using a worksheet format. As you may recall, user fees
cannot exceed the cost of providing the given service.
Departments have now completed the worksheets with information regarding each service,
including the classifications of any employees involved, the amount of staff time involved in
providing the service, and other related costs for materials, supplies, equipment, utilities, etc.
Information regarding hourly salary and benefit rates are also included in the worksheets.
Formulas are then used to calculate the department overhead rate. The citywide administrative
rate for each department was applied to the subtotal of costs for each fee. This process has
resulted in the determination of the total service cost per unit. Each department's recommended
fees are based on this service cost per unit, with many fees proposed to be set well below the
actual service cost. Staff has also gathered information concerning comparable fees in
neighboring jurisdictions, and that information is included on the worksheet.
The proposed fee changes are organized by department in the sheets attached. For each
department, a sununary is provided that lists all the fee changes and new fees, and along with the
cost analysis worksheets for each fee. The only exception to this format is for the adjustments to
the City's bail forfeiture penalties (parking ticket fines) as recommended by Facilities
Management; in accordance with the Vehicle Code, these fines should be based on a comparison
with other cities in the County. That survey information is attached.
On September 25,2002, the Ways and Means Committee recommended approval of various fee
adjustments. On November 18, 2002, a public hearing on the matter was opened and continued
to a subsequent meeting. After some discussion, the matter was tabled on February 3, 2003, and
staff was directed to bring the resolution back for consideration during the budget process.
Since that time, several additional new fees and fee revisions have been incorporated into the
proposed resolution. These new and increased fees arose out of the "budget brainstorming"
efforts that were undertaken beginning in January 2003. A public hearing was originally set for
June 30, 2003, to consider the new fee resolution. At that time, the matter was tabled in order to
allow staff time to properly publish notification concerning the public hearing, and to further
analyze the proposals. It is now requested that the Mayor and Council set a public hearing for
Monday, August 4, at 4:00 p.m. to consider a resolution adjusting and establishing various fees.
The proposed master fee resolution will incorporate all the new and revised fees, along with
other fees that remain unchanged. Language from the previous master fee resolution will be
clarified as needed. (For example, some definitions for fire code permits for repair garages and
tire storage businesses will be modified to more accurately reflect the actual cost of inspections.)
It is anticipated that other fees will be brought forward for consideration later in the fiscal year,
after further study is completed.
Summarv of Fee Chaol!es:
The master fee resolution is organized by department, and contains the fee adjustments and new
fees. Since this resolution will repeal the previous master fee resolution, it also contains a large
number of fees that are not changing, but must simply be incorporated into this new resolution.
The following is a sununary of the fees that are being adjusted and the new fees. More detailed
information, including a summary of the fee changes and projected revenues by department, can
be found in the referenced attachments.
Animal Control- Attachment 1
The Animal Control Division is proposing decreases to the owner turn-in fees, euthanasia
requests, and livestock boarding. The reductions in the owner turn-in fees and euthanasia
request fees have been recommended by the Animal Control Commission as a means to
reduce the amount of animal "dumping" that unfortunately occurs in the city. By
reducing the fees, it is believed that owners will be more likely to bring unwanted
animals to the City's animal shelter, rather than abandoning the animals. A new
euthanasia request fee will be established for non-residents that is equal to the County's
fee, in order to ensure that County residents continue to use the County's service.
The Animal Control Commission has also endorsed an increase in the City's dog license
fee for unaltered animals. This fee would increase from $50 to $60, while the license fee
for spayed or neutered dogs would remain at $9. This fee structure is meant to provide a
financial incentive for dog owners to spay or neuter their pets.
Development Services - Attachment 2
The fee resolution will update the fully burdened hourly rate for building inspections and
plan check services, which was previously set in 1999. Fees for these services vary with
the staff time required, but are based on these hourly rates.
The Department is also proposing to update several development fees that have not been
updated since 1989 and 1991, other than annual CPI adjustments. These fees include the
Development Permit I, which is the basic development permit charged for smaller
projects that are processed administratively. There will also be a significant increase for
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an antenna development permit, which is charged for the installation of cellular telephone
towers and similar facilities.
The Department will also establish new fees for archiving plans and permits. Under a
relatively new state law, these records must be kept indefinitely. Revenues from these
new archival fees will be used to create the necessary records retention system, including
payments to private vendors to perform the scanning. If the fee is approved, the
Department will begin to explore options for this system and bring a proposed system
back for Council consideration at a future meeting.
Finally, the Department has proposed a revision to the excavation permit fee charged to
many utility companies for work in city streets. This fee has not been adjusted since
1990. A new fee will be added for those utility companies that request to be billed rather
than pay their fees at the counter. Franchised utilities such as Southern California Gas
and SCE are not subject to these fees.
Facilities Management - Attachment 3 (Survey)
Facilities Management is proposing to update the schedule of penalties for parking
violations. These penalties have not been updated since 1996. In accordance with the
Vehicle Code, these fees will be set based on a comparison with other area cities. These
increases will generate approximately $72,000 annually.
The penalty structure will be revised to include a third tier of penalties. This new three-
tier bail schedule is necessary to cover additional costs to process lien holds at the
Department of Motor Vehicles. Presently, the initial bail amount is due within thirty days
of citation date. After thirty days, a $25.00 delinquent fee is added; after an additional
twenty-eight days, the citation goes to lien at the DMV (without an additional bail
amount added). Once a DMV lien is placed against vehicle registration, the registered
owners must pay delinquent citations before obtaining license tags.
The DMV charges the City a fee of$3.00 for each citation that goes into lien status, and
this also requires further staff time. By adopting a lien, this cost to the City will be offset,
and an incentive will be created to pay parking citations before the lien date. Those
citations paid after the lien date would incur the additional penalty amount.
Fire Department- Attachment 4
As a result of the budget brainstorming process, the Fire Department has proposed three
(2) new fees in an effort to offset the costs providing certain services:
. Apartment inspection fee: $50 for apartments with 4-10 units
$125 for apartments with 11-49 units
$200 for apartments with 50 or more units
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The Fire Department's engine companies inspect every apartment complex annually in
order to help ensure a reasonable degree of fire safety as required by state law. There is
currently no fee for this service. The proposed fees would be related to the size of the
apartment complex. This new fee is projected to generate approximately $60,000
annually.
. Wildland inspection fee: $25
The Municipal Code has designated certain areas of the city as a Hazardous Fire Area.
Certain homes in the Hazardous Fire Area are now inspected annually by the Fire
Department's engine companies, in order to ensure a reasonable degree of fire safety as
required by state law. This new fee is projected to generate approximately $13,400
annually.
The Fire Department is also updating its stand-by fees, which are used for the calculation
of reimbursements for mutual aid requests and other specialty services.
The fee schedule for inspections is also being updated to more accurately reflect the time
involved. The new definitions of these fees more clearly define the scope of the
inspection and permit required, which will in many cases result in a decrease the permit
fees charged to businesses. The changes are necessary so that Development Services
counter personnel and Fire Department personnel charge the appropriate fee. For
example, construction permits for spray booth installations, partial Fire Alarms
installations, and underground storage tank modifications were not clearly defined in the
previous ordinance. Fees for these types of installations were calculated at the hourly
rate, which resulted in a higher than necessary fee; that situation will now be corrected.
Additionally, Repair Garage permits will now include welding and flammable inside
storage not to exceed 165 gallons and/or flammable outside storage not to exceed 250
gallons. Previously, this type of business was required to obtain three separate permits.
No additional revenues are anticipated as a result of these changes.
Parks, Recreation, and Community Services - Attachment 5
The Department is proposing a new fee structure for related to use of the City's swimming
pools. The revised fee schedule, which has been modeled after fee structures in several
other cities, includes a separate admission fee for senior citizens; a multiple use punch-
card system; and commercial swim passes. The revisions also include increases in the
fees for some swim patrons. The Department is also adding some definitions related to
special events, in order to clarify when certain fees are charged. A new picnic shelter
utility access fee will be established that will offset associated costs.
Finally, the Department's section now includes the schedule of fees for Pioneer Memorial
Cemetery. These fees were previously established, and will now be incorporated into this
resolution. There are no changes being made to these fees.
Police Department - Attachment 6
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The criminal and traffic accident report fees will be updated to more accurately reflect
costs. A new fee of $2.00 will also be collected when processing Live Scan fmgerprinting
requests, which will offset the City's cost associated with accessing the Sheriffs Live
Scan system.
Public Services - Attachment 7
New fees are proposed related to the capping of sewer laterals. Sewer laterals are capped
when a building is demolished. This resolution will establish the fee to be charged when
the capping is completed by City crews. If the property owner elects to use a private
contractor to perform the work, the inspection fee will be charged to ensure that the work
is properly completed.
Miscellaneous fee - Attachment 8
A new fee of $75.00 will be established for appeals to the Board of Building
Commissioners (BBC), Animal Control Commission, and Fire Commission. No fee has
been formerly established for these appeals.
Financial ImDact:
If the proposed fee adjustments are approved, potential revenue increases and/or decreases will
be associated with each fee change. Departments have provided estimates concerning these
potential revenue impacts in the referenced attachments.
Net additional revenue of $300,000 for FY 2003-04 is estimated as a result of this action. In the
final budget document, the Finance Department will make the appropriate revisions to revenue
estimates in order to reflect the new revenues adopted by the Mayor and Council.
Recommendation:
It is recommended that the Mayor and Common Council set the public hearing for Monday,
August 4, at 4:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers.
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