Rising costs have led the Yorba Linda City Council to update several hundred user and regulatory fees that are charged to residents and developers for city-provided services in planning, building and dozens of other categories.
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The new fee schedule will be implemented starting July 20 and is expected to bring in $1 million in recovery revenue by the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2027, according to a report to council members from the city’s treasurer and finance director, Donna Mullally.
Updated fees were recommended in a 149-page report from city-hired consultant Clear Source, a company that provides financial advice to cities. The report was completed in April and the council adopted the new fee schedule on a 5-0 vote at a May 19 meeting.
Included in the approval was a provision allowing an annual consumer price index adjustment not to exceed 3.5%, the first of which will be added on July 1, 2027. The city’s most recent revision in the fee schedule occurred in 2019.
“California cities regularly conduct user fee studies to ensure fees recover the cost of services that provide a specific benefit to an individual or group, rather than the community as a whole,” Mullally told the council.
Mullally noted: “Fees are based on the cost recovery principle that fees cannot exceed the reasonable cost of providing the service.” She also stated the new fee schedule “represents one of the few tools the city has to enhance long-term financial sustainability.”
According to the Clear Source report, “California law provides guidance regarding the amounts the city may charge for fee-related services and activities. Specifically, in order to avoid being considered taxes, the fees charged shall not exceed the estimated reasonable cost of providing the services, activities or materials for which fees are charged.”
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The anticipated new revenue includes $550,000 from planning fees, $340,000 from building fees, $80,000 from a technology surcharge and $30,000 from engineering fees.
In addition to the new planning, engineering and building fees, the schedule implements a 5% technology fee to create a “recurring revenue source for the city’s permitting technology and customer service needs.” This surcharge is expected to bring in $80,000 per year.
Another new charge will be a credit card convenience fee of 2.75% or the actual cost to offset the fees charged the city for processing credit sales by credit card companies. Mullally reported the city pays some $600,000 per year in credit processing fees, in addition to $400,000 paid yearly by the city-owned Black Gold Golf Club.
The city’s “master schedule of fees” runs 34 pages and includes entries for building, planning, community preservation, public works, library, city clerk, finance, parks and recreation, Black Gold Golf Club and miscellaneous.
A new schedule of parks and recreation fees is expected to be presented at a future meeting.
Jim Drummond is a longtime Yorba Linda resident. He regularly gives his take on local issues. Send e-mail to [email protected].
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