Board approves 4.19% inflation adjustment to county facility fees

The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors on April 8 held a public hearing and approved a 4.19% inflationary increase to the County Facility Fee (CFF) schedule for fiscal year 2025'—26.

Senior Deputy County Administrator Kelly Cabello told the board the increase aligns the fee schedule with the California Department of General Services' Construction Cost Index, which tracks construction labor and material costs in California.

Cabello said the CFF program collects growth-related funding for region-serving county capital facilities; recent and planned uses include the morgue and medical examiner facility replacement project ($25.6 million), District Attorney tenant improvements (about $12 million), a $5.6 million allocation for energy-related capital projects, and a county share of debt service for the County Administration Building. The board adopted the revised fee schedule after closing the public hearing and voted 5'—0 to approve the increase.

Cabello explained that the CFF is collected by the county and participating cities at the time of building permit issuance and that agricultural buildings as defined in the California Building Code are exempt. The program uses a nexus study to document the relationship between new development and facility needs; the study was updated for projections through 2035, Cabello said.

Board members asked how roadway funding differs from CFF funds. County staff and Public Works Director Fritz Buckman and County Administrator staff clarified that the CFF is for county capital facilities, not roadway maintenance; roadway projects are funded separately through roadway impact fees and other measures, plus gas-tax revenues and local measures such as Measure K.

The hearing record included a letter from the Building Industry Association expressing conditional support for the fee adjustment. After closing the hearing, the board voted to adopt the adjusted schedule. The motion carried 5'—0.