Committee forwards updated fire fee schedule to council after debate over outreach and emergency clause
Staff said most fire fees haven't been comprehensively updated since 2012; proposed fee increases (roughly 27%) would move cost recovery for fire‑marshal services from 42% toward a 53–56% range. Councilors pressed staff on outreach and later approved referral to council after removing the emergency clause to allow more public input.
The full story
Fire bureau staff told the committee the bulk of fire‑marshal fees have not been comprehensively updated since before 2012 and that fees cover a shrinking share of personnel costs. Angela Wright from the Finance office said the proposed updates would increase cost recovery from around 42% in FY26 toward roughly "53–56%" in the modeled scenarios.
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