For Economic Development Committee [January 30, 2019]
TO: Honorable Economic Development Committee Members
APPROVAL: Robb R. Steel, Assistant CA/Development Services Director
FROM: James Caro, Building Manager
Title
Request EDC to Recommend Approval of a Proposal for Consulting Services with NBS for Development Services to Update the Development Services User Fees.
Body
BACKGROUND:
User Fees are those charges that the City levies for providing various services to the community, which may range from providing copies of public documents to the review of various development agreements and plans. Rialto Municipal Code Section 3.32 empowers the City to recover costs reasonably borne for providing various services through the imposition of fees and charges.
In 2004, the City undertook a comprehensive review of its User Fees as part of a larger effort that included establishing the Central Cost Allocation Plan and Fully Burdened Hourly Rate study. MuniFinancial performed the previous fee study, which the City Council subsequently approved in April 2005. Since 2005, Lynn Merrill consulting completed various individual fee studies, including the update of Engineering Plan Check fees on May 7, 2013 and the establishment of NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) Inspection Fees on April 26, 2013. Other fees have been escalated using a Consumer Price Index (CPI), rather than updating the time and labor costs associated with providing those fees.
Due to various staffing changes, changes in procedures, other factors affecting the cost of providing the various services, as well as the generally accepted accounting standard of conducting such studies at least once every five years, staff recommends the City to conduct a revised User Fee Study. The Budget Advisory Committee also recommended that the City Council annually update user fees in accordance with law to ensure fair cost recovery, particularly for developers so that existing residents do no...
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