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Arcadia council adopts annual user-fee update, citing modest increases and one new reinspection charge
Summary
The Arcadia City Council adopted Resolution No. 7,684 approving its annual user-fee update, adding one new reinspection fee for standpipes and projecting approximately $225,000 in additional revenue (estimate). Council found the item exempt from CEQA and set the resolution effective July 1, 2026.
Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang and the City Council on April 21 adopted Resolution No. 7,684, the city’s annual user-fee update, approving fee adjustments across multiple service categories and adding a single new reinspection fee for standpipes used during construction.
Administrative Services Director Henry Chen told the council the update follows a 2019 comprehensive study and a July 2020 policy requiring annual adjustments. Chen said the city uses three cost-recovery levels — high (70–100%), medium (30–70%) and low (0–30%) — to determine which fees to adjust. He said most changes reflect inflationary pressures, with 560 fees increasing, two decreasing and 112 left unchanged; the update also creates one new fee to encourage correct initial installation of construction standpipes.
"This is an annual user-fee update," Chen said, summarizing the policy framework and the calculation method the city uses to set fees.
Chen estimated the fee schedule could yield roughly $225,000 in additional revenue, but he cautioned the figure is demand-dependent. He recommended the council find the action is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act and adopt the resolution effective July 1, 2026.
No members of the public spoke during the public hearing. After a brief opportunity for council questions — none were raised — the City Attorney moved approval and the council adopted the resolution by roll call; the clerk recorded unanimous "Yes" responses. (The transcript also records the statement "The motion passed by 5 to 5," which appears to be a transcription error; the roll-call responses show all present members voting yes.)
The adopted resolution will be incorporated in the city’s upcoming budget and reflected in future budget documents, staff said. Chen told the council staff will present more detailed fee schedules when the budget is prepared and will continue to apply the written fee policy and cost-recovery levels in future years.
The council did not direct additional study or amendments at the meeting; implementation tasks will follow normal administrative processes and budget timelines.
