City staff propose one-time planning fee recalibration after audit finds underpriced permits

Colin Stevens, the City of Bend’s community development director, and Roger Straud Jr., a senior management analyst, told BDAB on June 4 that an in-house fee study found planning fees lag current workloads and costs and that a targeted one-time fee recalibration is needed to restore fund solvency.

The analysis reviewed the division’s highest-volume permits and found that roughly 70% of permit volume generated only 25–30% of revenues. Staff said six of the top ten high-volume planning permits are underpriced and that those six alone created fiscal-year-to-date deficits of about $300,000–$400,000. Staff proposed a one-time, targeted fee adjustment for fiscal year 2026 on July 1 in the range of roughly 8%–14% (8% is the minimum needed to cover personnel and expenditure increases; 14% is a worst-case to correct…