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Council approves updated master fee schedule after cost-of-service study; small CPI tax adjustments adopted
Summary
San Leandro council adopted an updated master fee schedule based on a citywide cost-of-service study, authorizing fee changes estimated to increase fee-derived revenues and adopting CPI-based adjustments for certain taxes; staff said existing fee recovery overall is about 53 percent of full cost.
San Leandro City Council on May 5 approved amendments to the city's master fee schedule following a year-long cost-of-service study and adopted annual CPI adjustments for several municipal taxes.
Assistant Finance Director Felicia Silva presented the study results and recommended fee schedule updates prepared with consultant NBS. "When we look at the existing cost recovery percentage, we end up seeing that it's 53%," Silva said, summarizing the study's high-level finding that fees currently recover roughly half the full cost of providing covered services.
Study highlights and staff recommendations: The review examined direct, indirect and support costs and calculated per-unit costs for fee-based activities across departments. The study found uneven cost recovery across services — some fees are below cost (notably recreation, parks and some human services fees) while a small number of administrative fees exceed measured per-unit cost. Staff recommended targeted fee adjustments and administrative clarifications and presented an estimated revenue increase of about $945,000 tied to proposed fee changes and updates.
Staff also recommended adjusting several municipal tax rates by the consumer price index (CPI) as allowed by the municipal code: business license tax, emergency medical services tax and emergency communications system access tax. The council accepted a recommended CPI factor of 2.4% for those items.
Public comment and clarifications: One remote speaker, Ginny Madsen, asked about how the emergency medical services tax assigns "benefit units" to residential building types, noting an apparent imbalance in the printed materials. Staff and the city attorney clarified that the benefit-unit system used in the existing municipal code was adopted previously with Alameda County input; the city confirmed a typographical inconsistency in the meeting packet concerning how "6 or more living units" was displayed and clarified that the municipal code treats multi-unit residential buildings on a per-unit basis (one benefit unit per dwelling unit once a building hits the 6-or-more threshold).
Action and next steps: Council member Aguilar moved and Council member Azevedo seconded adoption of the resolution amending the fee schedule and three ordinances implementing CPI increases for the listed taxes. The motion passed unanimously, 7–0. Staff will implement the schedule and bring fee changes into the FY2026 budget and underlying billing systems as appropriate.
Clarifying details: staff cited a current fee-recovery average of roughly 53% across examined services, an estimated revenue uplift of approximately $945,000 if the recommended fees are implemented, and recommended CPI adjustments of 2.4% for the three municipal taxes noted above. A packet typo regarding the EMS benefit-unit table was identified and corrected during the meeting; the municipal code controls the structure and will remain unchanged beyond the CPI update.
