Engineering office to move several surcharges into administrative fee schedule; council approves report

City Council heard a presentation from Engineering Office staff about a proposed ordinance to relocate multiple surcharges from the municipal code into an administrative fee schedule so staff can adjust those fees based on periodic cost studies. The council voted to adopt the motion for point 1.

Engineering Office staff told council members the office had identified several inaccuracies and cross-references in the municipal code and proposed to re-locate the surcharges and related engineering fees into a single administrative schedule to allow more efficient future adjustments. “queremos hacer unas correcciones, reubicamos todos los recargos de oficina e ingeniería al dirección de código para ayudarnos en futuro, para ajustar los recargos, basados en los estudios,” the Engineering Office staff said during the presentation.

The staff said the change is intended to let the city update fees by administrative action after annual or periodic studies rather than by amending the municipal code each time. When asked about timing, the staff said additional adjustments are expected depending on the results of ongoing analyses and that the most recent schedule change could extend through July 1, 2028: “creo que el último momento fue el primero de julio de 2028,” the staff said.

Councilmember Padilla asked about the fiscal impact; staff said they expect the impacts to be minimal on the general fund while enabling the city to recover more of the engineering office’s costs. Council members also questioned which professionals perform the work referenced in the ordinance; staff clarified that survey work is performed by licensed surveyors and is distinct from the engineering office’s functions.

After questions and discussion, a motion to adopt the item as written for point 1 passed on a council roll call. The council recorded affirmative votes for Councilmember Hernández, Councilmember Padilla and Councilmember Hart.

The ordinance as presented moves technical fee language out of the municipal code and into an administrative schedule; staff said this will allow the city to apply future adjustments derived from the fee studies without amending the municipal code for each change. Staff also said some fees were increased now to better reflect cost recovery while others remain unchanged pending further study.

Council direction recorded during the discussion included requests for staff to return with updated study results and any proposed fee changes next year. The motion adopted did not itself set final fee levels beyond the changes attached to the report.