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Council hears staff reports on AB 1600 DIF update and broad user/regulatory fee study; public hearings set
Summary
Staff presented proposed inflationary adjustments to development impact fees under AB 1600 and a wide-ranging user and regulatory fee study. Council did not vote; staff will post revised fee schedules and hold public hearings on April 23 before any adoption.
City staff presented two finance‑oriented agenda items on April 9: (1) an inflationary update to development impact fees under AB 1600 and (2) a comprehensive user and regulatory fee study covering building, planning, engineering, fire and police fees.
On the AB 1600 update, staff explained the ordinance allows periodic inflation adjustments to development impact fees and said the combined 18‑month change (two index periods) would produce a 2.97% increase to the city’s five principal DIF categories if adopted. Staff said they had notified interested parties and that a public hearing and council action was scheduled for April 23; any adjusted fees would be effective July 1 if adopted following the required 60‑day notice period.
On the user and regulatory fee study, the city’s consultant produced a draft master fee schedule and comparative benchmarks. Staff and department leads walked councilmembers through notable proposed changes, including recommended full cost recovery for many line items and targeted exceptions for a subset of fees the council has historically kept below full cost (for example, some residential‑oriented service fees and certain community‑encouraging charges).
Councilmembers asked detailed questions about several proposals during the discussion, including ambulance transport fees (staff presented a proposed increase that could lift transport charges toward peer city levels), building and inspection fees (staff noted more accurate time accounting and, in some cases, suggested a phased approach to full cost recovery) and several police and alarm‑related fees. Staff and department heads said they would refine the draft in response to council feedback and corrections and return a revised schedule for public hearing and potential adoption on April 23. No final fee resolutions were adopted on April 9.
Staff estimated implementing the fee updates could increase general fund and enterprise revenues; for example, ambulance fee changes were estimated conservatively to yield roughly $300,000 in the first year depending on collection, payer mix and coding. Development impact fee adjustments were projected to modestly increase DIF funds in future fiscal years. Council asked staff to provide corrected tables and to reflect the council changes in the April 23 staff report.
