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Council introduces updated fee schedule after extended debate; staff to return with revisions for nonprofits, parks fees
Summary
After extended public comment and council debate about nonprofit and parks fees, Lake Havasu's City Council voted 4-3 Oct. 28 to introduce a revised master fee schedule that applies an annual CPI adjustment and adds several new fees; staff will return with targeted revisions before final adoption.
The Lake Havasu City Council on Oct. 28 held an extended hearing on the city's annual master fee schedule and ultimately voted 4-3 to introduce Ordinance No. 25-1372, authorizing updates to the city's fee and service charge schedule.
Staff said the ordinance implements last year's full fee true-up and applies a 4.39% consumer price index (CPI) adjustment to fees in most departments for the coming year. Finance Director Miss Olsen told council the city performs a comprehensive true-up every three years and applies CPI in intervening years; the next full true-up is scheduled in two years.
Council and the public focused on recreation and parks fees, recent unexpected fee increases for nonprofit events, and the newly proposed banner-hanging fee. Several nonprofit representatives said a sharp increase in venue deposits and rental fees (one group reported a jump from roughly $175 to $627 for an event) threatened their fundraising; Parks and Recreation staff apologized for customer-service lapses and clarified that cleaning deposits are refundable and should be processed quickly.
On banners, staff proposed a half-price rate for qualifying 501(c)(3) nonprofits; some council members asked staff for counts of current banner users and recommended returning with clearer nonprofit/commercial distinctions. Other policy questions included whether user fees should cover full cost recovery or remain partially subsidized and how increases should be timed to avoid large one-time spikes for residents and nonprofit groups.
Councilmember Cameron Moses moved to introduce the ordinance as presented; the motion passed 4-3. Council provided staff direction to return with: 1) clearer nonprofit banner options or exemptions, 2) refined parks and recreation fee recommendations (several council members signaled willingness to delay or limit CPI increases for leisure services), and 3) clarified deposit and refund procedures for facility rentals. Final adoption will be considered at a subsequent meeting after staff revisions.
