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Council tables master fee schedule after residents and councilors urge targeted relief
Summary
Deputy City Manager presented a proposed fee schedule with a 3.8% CPI adjustment; councilors and members of the public raised concerns about impacts on seniors, veterans and mobile‑home residents. After public comment and requests for targeted subsidies and a line‑by‑line impact analysis, council voted to table the item until September.
Deputy City Manager Janelle Sampson presented the city's annual master schedule of fees and penalties for fiscal year 2026–27, describing a 3.8% CPI increase applied to most fees and targeted adjustments for certain development‑related fees to better reflect staff time. Sampson said some programs offer fee waivers or sponsorships and that Measure AV funds are available to assist veterans with requests for financial assistance.
Council members pressed staff for more granular fiscal impact numbers and for proposals to protect low‑income residents, seniors and veterans from fee increases. One councilor called attention to several specific fee anomalies — for instance, a $3,600 fee for a mobile‑home rent‑increase appeal — and urged that such fees be revisited. Multiple public commenters echoed concerns that across‑the‑board increases are regressive and that the city should use existing tax revenues to offset fees for residents. After deliberation the council voted to table the fee schedule and asked staff to return with targeted recommendations in September.
"If we can provide relief to our residents, let's get it done," a council member said during the discussion. The motion to table the schedule passed unanimously.
