City fees increase by $3 million
Jenny Marder
The city will pull in between $2 million and $3 million in new fees
each year with a mass of fee increases approved by the City Council
on Tuesday night.
The new funds will help balance the 2003-04, which was about $1.2
million short, and $1.8 million will bring the general fund reserve
back up to 7%, City Administrator Ray Silver said.
Of the new fees, an estimated $1 million will come from Public
Works, $700,000 from the Police Department, $550,000 from the
Planning Department, $200,000 from the Fire Department, $200,000 from
Community Services, and $20,000 from the City Clerk’s office.
Fees stayed the same in the city treasurer’s office the
departments of Building and Safety and Economic Development, and the
library.
Councilwoman Jill Hardy, who studied the new fee scale carefully,
said that none of the fees struck her as excessive.
“A lot of these fees had not been increased in over 10 years,” she
said. “Many of them are still under what we could justify.”
Room rentals at Edison and Murdy community centers jumped from $5
per hour to $10 per hour. Instructional classes and art classes at
community centers and at the senior center rose from $4 a class to $5
a class.
The costs to join sports teams have also increased. The cost to
join a slow-pitch baseball team, for example, has increased 11%, from
$375 to $420.
The junior lifeguard fee went from $410 last year for residents
and nonresidents to $475 for residents and $510 for nonresidents.
In the Police Department, the fee to get a vehicle out of impound
went from $50 to $115. The cost of a temporary alcohol beverage
review, for special events went from $79 to $93, and the cost of
police map books went from $5 to $14, Chief Kenneth Small said.
“Being competitive means that we’re at a reasonable price and not
over it, but that we charge a price that’s worth the effort that we
put into it,” Hardy said.
The council did nix some fee changes that seemed exceptionally
high, such as a recommendation that the special events fee be hiked
from $100 to $1,100. The council decided that the cost should vary
depending on the size and services required for the event.
For example, a surf contest will require a different amount of
staff time than the annual duck-a-thon, Boardman said.
Some of the biggest fee increases are for services that are rarely
used, Finance Officer Dan Villella said. The fee for high-rise
inspections, for example, went from $297 to $1,203.
“But we only did seven of them last year, and we might only do
three of them this year,” Villella said.
An outside contractor hired by the city performed a study to
determine the total cost of providing city services to the community.
Staff used the results of the study to come up with the list of
recommended cost changes for services that the City Council voted on.
Council members complained that it was difficult to understand the
study because city staff failed to provide a comprehensive list that
compared current fees, staff recommendations and the amount it costs
the city to provide the services.
For this reason, Councilman Dave Sullivan abstained from voting,
claiming that he refused to vote for something “that hasn’t been
explained in an understandable manner.”
“You’d have to be a workaholic with a hell of a lot of patience to
go through this stuff,” Sullivan said at the meeting. “What I’m
trying to do is compare oranges and orangutans here.”
Hardy, who teaches economics, had an easier time understanding
than some of the other council members.
“Some things are not always public-friendly, which is unfortunate
because members of the council and the public are just trying to help
out,” Hardy said. “It was time consuming. I don’t think it was
impossible, but it could have been easier.”
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