REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Public Hearing - Annual Review of Proposed Fees and Charges for Fiscal Year 2015/16
Report
REPORT IN BRIEF
The fees and charges of the City are reviewed and adjusted each year in accordance with Council Fiscal Policy. This annual evaluation ensures that all fees and charges of the City are aligned with the cost to provide each service, except for those fees that are legally limited, market based, or subsidized per Council direction.
After a detailed staff review of fees, necessary adjustments have been made to the proposed Fee Schedule. Fees that are legally limited remain unchanged. Fees that are intended to recover the cost of service were reviewed and adjusted by the increase in labor costs of the work unit that provides the service if necessary. In general, labor costs, including salaries and benefits, rose 3.1%, the average increase of regular employee salaries and benefits between FY 2014/15 and FY 2015/16. In some cases, staff from the appropriate department reviewed the fees in more detail and made further adjustments. Fees related to construction and materials prices are changing in accordance with the Construction Cost Index (CCI), which increased 1.8%.
The Recommended FY 2015/16 Fee Schedule (Attachment 1) details all proposed fees. Most fees become effective at the start of the new fiscal year, with the exception of development processing and mitigation fees which become effective 60 days after adoption.
Each year the City Council reviews recommended changes to the City's fees and charges. Tonight's public hearing is to allow public input and comment on proposed fees and charges This hearing on the proposed fees will be followed by Council consideration to adopt updated and new fees on June 23, 2015; the Council adopted fees would be effective for FY 2015/16.
BACKGROUND
The attached Fee Schedule references all City fees, except the proposed utility rates and fees for recreation services. Fee...
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