REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Public Hearing: Action on the Adoption of Phase I of the Fiscal Year 2019/20 Municipal Fee Schedule (Not to be Heard prior to 7:00 PM)
Report
BACKGROUND
On a periodic basis, it is incumbent upon government agencies to comprehensively evaluate and update their fee schedules in an effort to manage resources efficiently and meet service demands. In California, several constitutional provisions such as Propositions 13, 4, and 218, as well as State Government Codes 66014 and 66016, and more recently Prop 26 and the Attorney General's Opinion 92-506 set the parameters under which the user fees are established and administered. Applicable state law requires that any user fee charged by the City be "no more than necessary to cover the reasonable costs of the governmental activity" (Cal. Const. Art 13C ?1).
Government agencies are allowed to set fees at rates to obtain fair and reasonable recovery of costs incurred in providing these services, thereby minimizing or eliminating the use of limited general tax revenues. Historically, the City of Santa Clara (City) has sought to maximize cost recovery through annual review and evaluation of fees that are set at appropriate levels to cover the escalating costs of doing business and that take market comparisons into consideration.
The City's proposed FY 2019/20 Municipal Fee Schedule is a compilation of fees for City services provided to members of the public. The services generally do not rely on tax revenues, but are provided for the benefit of individual members of the public. The advantages of updating the City's user fees include assuring that fees are set based on current costs and approved cost recovery objectives while providing transparency in the fee structure for the City's development-related and other municipal fees. The fees cover the costs for specific City services, except those mandated by or set by another Council action or document (e.g., Electric Rate Schedule, Water & Se...
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