National City council adopts updated user-fee schedule, delays effective date to August and asks staff to draft low‑income options

After a presentation by Willdan consultants and extended discussion, the National City City Council voted to adopt a comprehensive update to the city’s user-fee schedule and full cost-allocation plan, while directing staff to return with options to reduce impacts on low‑income residents and to make the schedule effective in early August.

Willdan consultant Mike Medby told the council the study calculated “fully burdened hourly rates” that include salary, benefits and central services, then applied those rates to time estimates for each fee. “These are fees to reimburse the city for services provided,” Medby said during the presentation, describing why some permit and inspection charges rose substantially.

The consultant said the update covers most departments — building, planning, fire, public works, finance, neighborhood services and others — and recommended full cost recovery where a service yields a private benefit. The draft included dozens of changes: some fees increase, some decrease, and several new fees were proposed.

Council discussion ranged from concerns that some line items could produce unintended consequences for residents (for example, large percentage increases on small, infrequent services) to the need to reduce the city’s structural budget shortfall. Council members asked staff to identify specific exemptions or deferral programs for residents on fixed incomes and for persons with disabilities, rather than broadly raising fees without relief options.

Councilmember Molina asked that staff study protections for residents who might be unable to afford required permit fees for essential repairs; other council members urged staff to return examples of waiver or deferral programs used by other cities. Interim City Manager Scott Huth and Finance staff confirmed the schedule can be adjusted downward later if the council decides to subsidize particular programs, and that adopting the study now provides the legally supportable maximums.

The council approved the fee schedule as presented and modified the implementation timing: the master fee schedule will become effective on August 6, 2025, giving staff time to return with options for low‑income, senior or disabled households and other targeted relief. The council also asked staff to pursue the study’s phase two items — additional community services and select fire fees — and to consider an annual indexing method to keep fees current.

Public comment before the vote highlighted both procedural concerns and neighborhood impacts: some residents urged more time for review and community outreach; others said undercharging fees had contributed to the city’s budget deficit and supported moving forward.

The adoption resolves a multi‑year update to fees and establishes an ongoing process to review and adjust charges so that services are no longer subsidized from the general fund where a private benefit exists. Staff will return with options for targeted relief and an implementation plan before the August effective date.

Less critical details: the study recommends periodic comprehensive reviews, suggested CPI or construction cost indexing for routine adjustments, and identified several fees that remain unchanged or were reduced in the analysis.