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Votes at a glance: Lake Forest City Council actions on Sept. 16 — fees, grants and development reviews
Summary
The Lake Forest City Council approved a range of routine and administrative items on Sept. 16, including a credit card transaction fee update, the CDBG annual performance report, and the annual review of development agreements. Several items passed unanimously or by majority depending on attendance.
At its Sept. 16 meeting the Lake Forest City Council approved several administrative and budget-related items, including a change to how the city charges credit card transaction fees, adoption of the city’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) annual performance report for fiscal year 2024–25, and the annual review of active development agreements.
Key votes and outcomes
• Credit card transaction fee (Item 9): The council adopted a resolution to update the city’s credit card transaction fee policy and move to a direct pass-through model for processing charges applied by third-party payment vendors. The item required a four-fifths vote; the council voted 4-0 in favor with Councilman Doug Serbo absent.
• CDBG Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) for FY 2024–25 (Item 7): Staff presented the CAPER summarizing roughly $1.5 million reported in revenues for the year and about $1.1 million in expenditures, including housing rehabilitation loans, neighborhood paint grants, public services and an accessible pedestrian signals project. The council adopted the associated resolution; the vote was recorded as 3-0 with Councilman Serbo and Mayor Pro Tem absent.
• Annual review of development agreements (Item 8): Staff reported that owners of active development agreements (including Portola Center, Serrano Summit, and Meadows) are in good-faith compliance through the end of fiscal year 2024–25. The council accepted the report; vote recorded 3-0 with Councilman Serbo and Mayor Pro Tem absent.
• Consent calendar and warrant register (Item 4): The council approved the consent calendar remainder by a 4-0 vote with Councilman Serbo absent. Item 4 (certification of the warrant register) was pulled for separate discussion; a public commenter questioned legal billing charges in connection with the city’s actions on personal services businesses. The council moved item 4 and it passed 4-0.
What staff said
Kevin Shiro, director of finance, said changes by the city’s third-party payment vendors prompted the recommendation to move from a 3% cap to a pass-through model so the city can apply the exact processing fee in effect. Adrian Grijalva, the city’s economic development and housing manager, summarized the CAPER and noted that the FY 2024–25 allocation and prior-year unspent funds together provided about $1.5 million for programming.
What happens next
• The finance department will implement the revised fee approach in the two affected systems, Active Net and Tyler.
• Staff will submit the CAPER to HUD by the 09/28/2025 deadline.
• No additional council action is required for the development-agreement annual reviews unless future compliance issues arise.
