Council asks staff for detail on fee schedule changes, moves item to next business meeting

City finance staff asked the council for direction on the city's annual comprehensive fee schedule and the use of CPI‑U adjustments for various charges, describing how different programs (building, planning, pool and utilities) each use different methodologies and that many programs are partially subsidized by the general fund.

JC (staff) reviewed examples showing building services have not recovered full costs since 2008 and planning recovers only about 12–17% of its costs in recent years. He noted automatic CPI adjustments are programmed in code for many utility and planning fees and that this year’s CPI calculation was unusual because of an 11‑month federal data set.

Council response: several councilors said they want staff to check departmental reviews of fee methodologies, provide explicit dollar estimates for the revenue impact of the proposed CPI increases, and show which funds would be affected (enterprise vs. general fund). Councilors also expressed concern about impacts on small downtown businesses and on low‑income residents who face shutoff or late fees.

Direction and next steps: council asked staff to prepare clearer revenue and impact figures and to return the item for the next business meeting (motion to move the item to the Wednesday business meeting passed). Staff also was asked to clarify which fee adjustments are automatic under municipal code and which require council action.

Related council items: members asked staff to coordinate the comprehensive fee discussion with other ongoing reviews, including the Small Business Task Force and development‑code work, to minimize unintended burdens on small businesses.