REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
February 13, 2020
FROM: DOUGLAS T. SLOAN, City Attorney
City Attorney's Office
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to the 556th Amendment to the Master Fee Schedule:
1. Adopt a finding of statutory exemption pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15273(a) for amendments to Code Enforcement fees.
2. ***RESOLUTION - 556th amendment to the Master Fee Schedule (MFS) Resolution No. 80-420 to add, adjust, revise, or delete various fees for Code Enforcement. (Subject to Mayor's Veto)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends Council:
1. Adopt the CEQA exemption; and
2. Approve the 556th Amendment to the MFS Resolution 80-420.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City hired NBS Government Finance Group (NBS) to complete a User Fee Analysis to determine appropriate fees for Code Enforcement activities. Following an analysis of the City's current fee structure (the Study) and a cost of service analysis of Code Enforcement activities, NBS provided the recommendations set forth in the attached Final Report - User Fee Analysis (Report).
BACKGROUND
Per California State Constitution Article XI, Section 7 cities may establish regulatory fees for services, provided such fees do not exceed the estimated reasonable cost of providing those services. Accordingly, the City has established various Code Enforcement fees to recover code enforcement inspector time. The subject fees were last updated by Council in April 2008.
Current Fees
Currently, the MFS breaks down Code Enforcement fees into (1) flat rate fees for certain activities (such as abatements or preparing a Notice and Order) and (2) hourly fees based upon a total cost recovery figure of $100 per hour for other code enforcement activities. Based on the Study approximately $113,000 is collected annually at current fee amounts, whereas total cost recovery should be $165,000. As such, the City is currently recovering only 68% of the total costs associated with providing services. Should the Council ado...
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