TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Ryan J. Alsop, County Executive Officer
REPORT BY: Becky Craig, Assistant County Executive Officer
SUBJECT: User Fees Policy Update
RECOMMENDATION
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PUBLIC HEARING - User Fee Update
Conduct a Public Hearing and adopt a Resolution establishing, increasing, decreasing, and deleting certain fees in Part III Fees of the Napa County Board Policy Manual. (Fiscal Impact: $2.3 million Revenue; $2 million General Fund, $320,000 Fire Fund, $19,000 Animal Shelter Fund; Not Budgeted; Discretionary)
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BACKGROUND
State law allows government agencies to recover the cost of providing services by levying fees. Napa County has previously established fees for services and has periodically updated those fees. The most recent comprehensive update was adopted in May 2019 with Resolution 2019-70.
The comprehensive 2024 User Fee Study (attached) includes the consultant's calculation methodology and data. The cost of services incorporates the hourly rates of staff and the time spent to perform the services. Currently, fees are set to recover 80% for Planning and Public Works. Staff recommends increasing recovery to 100% for all applicant fees, except for all building permits submitted to replace or repair structures damaged in a disaster. Full cost recovery ensures the General Fund isn't burdened by discretionary development. The County contracted with MGT in 2023 to update certain fees using FY 2023-24 salary and benefit costs. The County's Public Services Employees' (PSE) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was adopted near the conclusion of the study's calculations and the 4% cost-of-living adjustment was incorporated.
Applicant processing fees are proposed to increase 10-100+% since the last increase five years ago with an average increase of 30% primarily reflecting staff pay increases. The recommendation to increase to full-cost recovery further affects some of the rates. Projected revenues are estimated based on historical applicant data ...
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