AGENDA DATE: 3/18/2026
TITLE:
Title
Intent to Schedule Public Hearing to Consider Article 5 Fee Schedule Change
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Schedule a public hearing to consider fee changes in Chapter 1, Article 5 Fee Schedule of the County Code
ITEM TYPE: Consent Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Wall, Herrick, Bowman, Svoboda
PRESENTER (S): Bowman, Svoboda
LEGAL REVIEW: Yes
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B. Richardson
BACKGROUND: In the Fall of 2023 staff presented a Fee Study compiled by an outside consultant, the Berkley Group, that examined the County’s current fees for a variety of services and compared/contrasted them with seven localities to evaluate best practices. The Berkley Group’s recommendations included periodical fee adjustments to keep up with inflation and other market factors which could be based upon salary increases or other factors to keep changes predictable and transparent while keeping up with changing economic conditions.
The last fee schedule update was adopted on December 6, 2023. The update was a cost neutral restructuring recommended by the Berkley Group to reduce the overall number of fee categories.
Prior to the fee schedule update in 2023, the last fee schedule increase, based on the cost of services, was implemented as part of the FY 2022 budget.
STRATEGIC PLAN: Quality Government Operations - Ensure County government’s capacity to provide high quality service that achieves community priorities.
DISCUSSION: The proposed fee changes to Chapter 1, Article 5 of the County Code are in accordance with the Board’s Adopted Financial Management Policies. The Board’s Revenue Policy 10 (E)states that the County will, where possible, institute user fees and charges for specialized County programs and services based on benefits and or privileges granted by the County or based on the cost of that particular service, which will be established to recover operational as well as capital debt service costs and consider equitable access to services with a goal to review user fees charges at least every three years.
BUDGET IMPACT: The proposed fee schedule changes are based on cost-of-service increases since FY 2022 in accordance with Revenue Policy 10 (E). If approved, the fee changes will be effective on January 1, 2027. Six months of revenue under the new fee structure is estimated to add approximately $265,000 to the revenue collected by the Community Development Department. This recommended update is included as part of the FY 27 Recommended Budget.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Board schedule a public hearing to consider the fee changes in the County Code, Chapter 1, Article 5 Fee Schedule.
ATTACHMENTS:
A - Proposed Changes 1-5 Fee schedule