Commission reviews proposed increase to downtown banner fee; asks staff to seek community options
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Summary
Director Nishihara proposed increasing the Main Street banner customer charge from $200 to $250 to capture rising contractor and administrative costs. Commissioners asked staff to research alternatives (local lift contractors, pulley systems, bringing work in‑house) and to include any fee change in the formal fee schedule for City Council review.
Placerville’s Community Services director told the commission the city’s Main Street banner program is popular—about 34–40 placements a year—and that rising contractor costs and staff time make a modest fee increase reasonable. Director Nishihara said the current customer price is $200, that the vendor recently proposed a $50 increase, and that staff recommended raising the charge to $250 to better recoup indirect administrative costs.
Commissioners asked how the current price compares with peer cities and whether nonprofits pay a different rate. A commissioner who reviewed sample cities said Placerville’s customer price is near the high end; staff clarified the company charge is $200 and the city has passed that charge through to customers. Staff estimated administrative coordination requires about one to one‑and‑a‑half hours of staff time; combining staff time (~$116.50) with the contractor fee yielded an initial in‑house estimate of roughly $366 per banner if the city undertook the full operation.
Commissioners proposed several cost‑saving steps: ask the current vendor to justify the increase, solicit quotes from other contractors, reach out to community members who operate lifts for lower rates, and explore pulley or in‑house alternatives if feasible. Commissioner Potter volunteered to research local contractors who operate lifts and to report back. Several commissioners stressed the change would ultimately need to be placed in the city’s formal fee schedule and go to City Council for adoption.
Staff will return with further cost analysis and a formal recommendation for the council fee‑book or a future commission meeting; commissioners generally signaled support for continuing with a $250 recommendation pending additional research.
