Palm Springs holds public hearing on comprehensive fee update; council asks staff for revenue breakdowns and more community review

City staff and consultant Willdan presented a comprehensive user-fee study April 9 that updates dozens of fees across departments, recommends changes to recover departmental costs and provides a framework for annual adjustments.

The study enumerated proposed changes in building, engineering, parks and recreation, fire, police, planning, libraries and other departments. Willdan’s model calculated fully burdened hourly rates, allocated central-city overhead and estimated the maximum justified fee level for each service. Staff and the consultant estimated the total additional recoverable revenue at roughly $1.03 million per year under the recommended schedule, although the consultant cautioned that exact revenue depends on how often individual fees are charged.

Council reaction and requests Council members asked for more detail before any final vote: they requested per-fee revenue estimates (which the city said would require additional analysis), removal of fees that are no longer charged, and lists of the highest-impact fees by department so the council can prioritize changes. Council also highlighted equity and policy goals — for example, seeking options to avoid large increases for daycare inspections and to consider resident discounts or scholarship programs for parks and recreation services.

Public hearing and next steps The city opened the public hearing and heard brief comment from a vacation‑rental owner group that asked for additional detail on the proposed regular and junior vacation rental permit fees. Council directed staff to collect the comments raised at the hearing, remove obsolete fees, and return with an updated fee schedule, a clearer mapping from fees to actual revenue lines, and department-level summaries that identify the top revenue-generating or most‑used fees. Staff indicated the study results will be posted with proposed changes and that the council could continue or finalize adoption at a later meeting. No final fee ordinance was adopted on April 9.

Key study points and samples from the record - Willdan’s approach: establish a cost-allocation plan, determine fully burdened hourly rates for staff who perform fee-based services, allocate central support costs, and build each fee from the time and direct-cost inputs. - Example recommendations discussed in public: proposed airport 24‑hour parking increase (from $20 to $26) drew council concern and at least one council member asked staff to retain the current rate; proposed parks and recreation price restructures aim to raise cost recovery but also propose dynamic pricing and resident discounts; building, planning and engineering fees were restructured with many line items added, removed or consolidated. - Willdan’s rough aggregate projected revenue gain from revised fees: about $1,030,000 annually (staff stressed this is an estimate and depends on actual fee activity).

Council directions to staff - Re-run or augment analysis to show per-fee revenue (where available) and identify which fees generate the largest revenue or have the greatest community impact. - Remove irrelevant or obsolete fees (staff agreed to review and strike unused items before the next public hearing). - Provide department-level averages and highlight top 2–3 priority fees per department for council review. - Bring a revised fee schedule back for council discussion and possible adoption at a subsequent meeting (staff anticipated posting an updated schedule in advance of the adoption hearing).

Speakers and proponents Presentation led by Willdan consultants (Mike Medvie and team) with multiple department directors available to answer technical questions. A representative of the vacation rental industry (Francine McDougall, representing a local owners’ group) requested clarification on permit fees. Council members focused on the need for more targeted data before final action.

Clarifying details - Consultant’s aggregate estimate of increased recoverable revenue from recommended fees: approximately $1,030,000 per year (estimate based on available budgets and fee changes; actuals depend on per-fee usage). (Source: Willdan presentation.) - Some large, one-off recommended fee increases flagged by council: e.g., proposed increases for certain parks/program fees and fire/inspection fees; council asked staff to review daycare‑inspection increases and consider not raising those to avoid discouraging needed services. (Source: council questions.) - Staff noted that the adopted fee schedule would take effect 60 days after formal adoption unless council specifies otherwise; council asked to delay final adoption until staff returns with the requested detail.

Provenance - Topic introduction (consultant presentation): transcript excerpt at 12257.675: "Good evening, honorable council members, my name is Mike Medvie, I'm with Wil·dan..." (block_id: "transcript_12257", local_start:0, local_end:120, evidence_excerpt:"Good evening... my name is Mike Medvie, I'm with Wildan and we've been working..." ) - Topic finish (council direction to staff): transcript excerpt at 16400.26: council directed staff to collect comments, remove irrelevant fees, provide per-department summaries and return with a revised fee schedule for vote at a later meeting. (block_id:"transcript_16399", local_start:0, local_end:200, evidence_excerpt:"We'll put all the changes together... we'll come back in the next staff report and outline all those changes...")

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