Agenda Date: 2/3/2015
Subject:
Title
Resolution adopting 2015 city-wide fees
Body
Presented By:
Doug Farmen, Finance Director
POLICY QUESTION:
Does city council support adoption of city-wide fees by annual resolution?
BACKGROUND:
City fees are charged to customers, citizens, and other parties for city services. The charged amount for fees recaptures the entire costs of providing these city services. Staff has been working with the council to remove specific codified (amount is clearly stated in the city code) fee amounts and move those fees to an annual resolution process for council's approval. Other fees have been previously approved by resolution and, therefore, can be changed by council resolution. These types of fees are on Exhibit A, to be approved for 2015.
Fees such as impact fees and sewer tap fees, require a more thorough analysis and, normally, outside rate consultant analysis so those fees will remain codified.
STAFF ANALYSIS:
Staff proposes to present the city-wide fee schedule to the council as part of the annual budget process resulting in a more orderly review and update process for fee management along with time savings for staff and council. The 2015 fee schedule includes two proposed fee changes, electrical permit fees and annual sewer service charges.
FISCAL IMPACTS:
The fiscal impacts of the annual fee resolution are minor. The current fees are not proposed to change, except for:
* Electrical permit fees are proposed to increase by approximately ten percent due to the higher inspection costs; these fees have not been increased since 2006. The annual fiscal impact to the General Fund is an additional $22,000 based on 2014 activity.
* Annual sewer service charges are proposed to increase by two percent due to maintaining adequate cash balances to help fund major capital projects over the next ten years. This equates to an additional estimated $254,000 in the Sewer Utility Enterprise Fund on an annual bas...
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