Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Master Fee Schedule topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Upland updates master fee schedule; building permits move to valuation-based model
Summary
The council adopted a revised master fee schedule that adds new fees, raises others and shifts the building-permit approach to a valuation-based model; the resolution also authorizes annual CPI adjustments by the city manager.
The City Council approved a comprehensive update to Upland’s master fee schedule, adopting new and revised user fees across multiple departments and authorizing the city manager to adjust citywide user fees annually for consumer-price-index changes.
Stacy Sullivan, the city’s finance manager, introduced the update and said departments worked with consultant Willdan to review costs and propose changes. Tony Thrasher of Willdan said the study layers direct personnel costs, departmental operating costs and central-service allocations to arrive at full-cost hourly rates and fee recommendations.
Key changes highlighted in the presentation included:
- Transitioning the building-permit fee structure from a simple square-foot method to a valuation-based model that uses construction valuation (a standard indexed metric such as the International Code Council valuation tables) to reflect the differing complexity and cost of plan checks and inspections for various project types. Thrasher said valuation-based methods are commonly used and help align fees with the cost of reviews and inspections.
- Department-specific recommended changes: finance (average fee increase ~7%), police (net increase ~12%; added parking citation schedule), planning (increase to about 33% on average for current flat fees because of many fee updates), building (new and more granular fees, including 92 new entries to better reflect mechanical/electrical/plumbing services and valuation-based calculations).
Council members asked about event and park deposits after one council member described large gatherings that exceeded the number listed on an application and resulting staff cleanup and sprinkler damage. Staff identified park security deposits in the fee schedule (packet page 410): $50 for reservations of 1–50 people, $100 for 51–100 people and $200 for 100-plus, and said the council could direct staff to return with a policy or fee amendment if the deposit tiers do not adequately deter damage or cover repair costs.
The resolution before the council would adopt the master fee schedule and authorize the city manager to adjust fees annually to reflect CPI changes. Mayor Pro Tem moved adoption and Council Member Garcia seconded; the motion passed unanimously.
Staff said some fees in the schedule are decreases, some increases and others unchanged; many changes reflect more granular billing categories and the calculation of fully burdened personnel costs. The building-valuation approach will be applied administratively as part of the permitting process and recalibrated in future updates.
