Santa Maria commission authorized to hold public hearings, recommend recreation program fees to council

The Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Commission voted to accept a staff recommendation to hold public hearings and recommend fees for recreation programs and services under a council-approved fee-policy framework.

Commissioners directed staff to implement a process that would use the previously approved "pyramid" methodology—an administrative cost-recovery matrix the City Council endorsed—to classify programs by public benefit and set target recovery percentages. Under the change, the commission will hold public hearings on proposed fee schedules (for example, fall program listings), hear public comment and forward fee recommendations to City Council, which may approve or repeal the commission's action.

Why it matters: The change is intended to streamline routine fee-setting for classes and seasonal programs so many small fees do not require separate City Council hearings. The commission's recommendations will still be subject to council review and may be reversed by council vote.

What staff said Dennis Smeda, the department business manager, told commissioners the council had already approved the pyramid methodology and target percentages; the proposal before the commission was a process change to let the commission hold the hearings and set the fees administratively before sending them to council as consent items. "That went to the council at the last meeting, and they approved the methodology of using this pyramid, and they approved the percentages that were in that pyramid," Smeda said during the briefing.

How it will work Staff described a typical flow: program schedules and proposed fee changes would be published; the commission would hold a public-hearing item where users and program participants could comment; the commission would adopt a recommendation and forward it to the City Council, usually as a consent-item action. If a council member requested further review, the council could pull the item.

Action taken A commissioner moved and the commission voted to review and approve the recommendation authorizing the commission to set fees for recreation programs and services as described in staff materials. The motion passed by voice vote ("Aye").

Next steps Staff will bring specific proposed fee schedules to the commission for public hearings using the new authority. Commissioners indicated they expect staff to distribute fee packets in advance and run public-notice procedures prior to hearings.

Additional context The change is intended to speed up adoption of recurring, low-dollar fees (such as class fees) while preserving public input via commission hearings. Staff said the commission's action is procedural: the City Council retains final authority to approve or repeal fees.