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Menlo Park staff proposes broad fee increases to raise city cost recovery; Council asks for a "sticker-shock" road‑map
Summary
Consultants presented a cost-of-services study that would raise the City’s fee recovery from about 42% to roughly 58%, adding an estimated $3.8 million in revenue; Council expressed concern about large increases to individual fees and asked staff to produce a short list of high-impact, high‑shock items for reconsideration before public notice.
City staff and consultant Government Consulting Partners presented a detailed cost-of-services study at the March 24 study session, and councilmembers raised concerns about large proposed increases to specific fees and the budgetary reliance on fee changes.
Finney Lay, Assistant Administrative Services Director, introduced the effort and consultant Cindy Sconce described the methodology: a bottom-up, per-unit analysis that pairs fully burdened hourly rates with average time estimates to calculate full cost for each fee-based service. "The goal is to develop a clear and accurate understanding of what it truly costs to deliver services," Sconce said.
Key proposals and headline…
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