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Downey council updates user-fee schedule; fire inspections to shift to risk-based model
Summary
The council approved a comprehensive set of user-fee adjustments, including CPI-based increases, new fees and fire-department changes tied to a July 2026 move to a risk‑based inspection system; 963 fee items were reviewed and the council adopted Resolution 26-8363 unanimously.
Downey City Council on June 23 adopted a broad update to the citywide user-fee schedule for fiscal year 2026–27, approving adjustments to hundreds of fees used to recover costs for city services.
Staff said the package includes 963 fee adjustments: 466 fees indexed to a 3.4 percent CPI increase, 60 proposed new fees, 35 fees adjusted to market rates, approximately 70 fire‑department fee updates based on a recent cost‑recovery survey, and some fee removals. The schedule also preserves statutory exceptions and fees already at full cost recovery.
Assistant Finance Director Marlon Ramirez explained changes to the Downey Fire Departmentinspection program: "Beginning July 2026, the Downey Fire Department will transition to a risk-based inspection system aligning inspections with occupancy type and risk level rather than business license applications," he said, and noted that high-hazard operational permits will be issued consistent with national standards.
Council members asked technical questions about the schedule and implementation. Staff said the fee updates are intended to reduce future general-fund subsidies for specialized services and to avoid large catch-up increases. The council approved Resolution No. 26-8363 by unanimous vote.
