Lake County supervisors adopt amendment to master fee schedule, apply 2.69% CPI increase and departmental changes

The Lake County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution amending the countymaster fee schedule during a public hearing to update departmental fees, apply a 2.69% consumer price index adjustment to most charges and add several new or reorganized fees.

The change, presented by Casey Moreno, deputy county administrative officer, adjusts most fees by the CPI (2.69%), updates some fees to match state government code or results of fee studies, and lists all county-collected fees on a single annual master schedule. The board voted unanimously to adopt the resolution.

The resolution affects multiple departments. Moreno told the board most fees are updated annually by CPI, while other fees are adjusted according to government code or specific fee studies. Environmental Health requested adding tobacco retail license fees "per ordinance 3141, section 9-128(a) and section 9-129," and public health requested that ambulance permit fees be added "per ordinance 3147, resolution 95-218," as noted in the staff presentation.

Supervisor Owen raised concerns about increases in Animal Control adoption fees, saying, "for instance, adopting a cat went from $20 to $60 and adopting a dog went from 30 to 120," and asked whether that would deter adoptions. The Animal Control director, speaking online during the hearing, said the department has simplified and consolidated previously itemized charges into a single lump-sum adoption fee intended to reflect the same bundled services (microchip, spay/neuter, vaccinations) rather than separate line-item pricing. The director said the itemized list remains in the schedule to show which services are included, but the individual prices are no longer attached when the bundled adoption fee is charged.

Auditor-Controller fees also changed: Moreno said the budget book fee rose from $27 to $75 after a fee study, and a copy of that study is available in the county office. Maria Turner, community development director, told the board building-permit fees increased only by the CPI (2.69%), while planning-related subdivision fees reflect separate planning charges and are not the same as building-permit fees. Turner said the permit increases were "the least incremental increase we could request" and described steps the Community Development Department is taking to increase efficiency, including an OpenGov electronic permitting portal and work under the Lake County 2050 general plan update and a housing action implementation plan to reduce regulatory obstacles.

Supervisor Smonti and other board members raised questions about new ambulance-permit and tobacco-license fees and urged staff to monitor the effects of newly created fees in future years to see whether adjustments are warranted. Smonti also requested that the department replace a link in the fee schedule that points to the ICC valuation table with a publicly accessible alternative or otherwise clarify the valuation multiplier, noting that the referenced ICC material is not freely viewable to nonmembers.

The board discussed asking staff to bring back any needed clarifications to the resolution, including changes to the referenced website links. A resolution to amend the master fee schedule was offered and then adopted by recorded vote: Supervisor Owen, Supervisor Sabatier, Supervisor Rasmussen, Supervisor Paiske and Supervisor Crandall all voted yes. The resolution passed by unanimous vote.

The action updates the formal fee list the county uses to invoice the public and to set charges for services; staff told the board the schedule will be updated annually and as-needed throughout the year and that copies of supporting fee studies are available from county offices.