DISCUSSION
User fees and charges are payments for voluntarily purchased, publicly provided services that benefit specific individuals, rather than the general public. Sound financial management principles encourage the full recovery of the costs for providing these services, as it protects the general public’s best interest. Since the fees and charges are to be established based on actual costs, it is necessary to review the fees on a regular basis to ensure full cost recovery.
The most recent user fee update was conducted in June 2019. Costs for both labor and materials have gone up in recent years, especially for construction materials. It is necessary to review the fees and ensure they are set at the level to best recover the full cost. The City also benchmarks with surrounding Orange County cities to ensure our fees are reasonable.
The departments of Public Works and Community Services have reviewed some of their existing fees, and determined that the current amounts can no longer cover the cost of providing the services and City facility uses. The proposed changes have been carefully calculated and reviewed; justifications are documented on attached Schedule A.
A public hearing is required for amending user fees, and a notice was published on June 29, 2022 and again on July 6, 2022, in accordance with Government Code Section 6062(a). The proposed user fee changes and documentation were made available for public review at the City Clerk’s office. Once approved, the amended fees will become effective 60 days upon the adoption of the attached resolution.