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Council adopts small master-fee updates, including new street-sweeper and backflow billing approaches
Summary
Council approved Resolution 2025-16 updating four fee items: event staff cost recovery, an hourly street‑sweeper fee, a monthly backflow test billing method, and SDC timing clarifications. The changes are intended to improve cost recovery and administrative efficiency.
The Sisters City Council adopted Resolution 2025‑16 after a staff presentation from Finance Director Joe O'Neil that outlined four changes to the master fee schedule.
O'Neil explained the adjustments were intended to better recover staff time and streamline billing. Two personnel-cost recovery amounts for public events will rise from $40 and $60 to $60 and $80, respectively, to reflect staff salary increases. The council also added a street‑sweeper hourly fee of $160 to account for vehicle and personnel costs when the city provides sweeping services in exchange agreements (for example with ODOT). For mandatory backflow-device testing, staff will shift to collecting a $1.07 monthly fee on utility bills for customers the city tests, which staff said will smooth administrative timing and spread cost equitably across billing periods. O'Neil told the council those charges are conceptual and tied to current contractor and personnel benchmarks.
Councilors voted by voice to approve the resolution. Councilors emphasized the intent was cost recovery rather than revenue generation. "We're not here to make money on these event fees," one councilor said during discussion. Staff indicated the effective date for fee changes would align with standard budget-cycle timing and noted some changes would take effect July 1 for operational reasons.
Outcome: Resolution 2025‑16 passed on a council voice vote with no recorded roll‑call tally in the transcript.
