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The San Ramon City Council is set to continue discussions on potential updates to the city’s master fee schedule for municipal services that are being recommended by city staff in accordance with direction from a previous council meeting.
Councilmembers are poised to vote on finalizing the updated fee schedule following an earlier public hearing on the proposed updates March 10, during which they heard a presentation on a nexus fee study conducted with the help of consultants and asked staff to modify the planning division appeal fee structure.
Under the revised proposal set for consideration this week, appeal fees would be reduced across four existing categories – zoning administration decisions on residential and non-residential projects, and planning commission decisions residential and mixed use, and non-residential commercial projects – with fees for two new categories introduced.
The proposal would reduce appeal fees currently ranging from $4,000 to $4,500 to between $1,500 and $2,500, while levying new, $2,500 fees on appeals regarding planning commission decisions on land use for both residential and nonresidential projects.
While some fees are set to remain unchanged, a majority of those that are increasing are generally aligned with a 2.62% CPI increase since the last update in 2024, with others aimed at reflecting current market rates. The latter includes a 100% increase in police record fees from 10 cents per page to 20 cents per page, and an increase from $30 to $50 for gallery fees at the library, City Hall, and the Dougherty Station Community Arts Center.
Meanwhile, the exhibit fee for the Lindsay Dirkx Brown Gallery is poised to be reduced from $55 to $50, also to align with market rates.
Other proposed changes to align with market rates include an increase in fees for the release of non-repossessed stored vehicles from $63 to $150, as well as the introduction of a new $30 per month fee for stored vehicles.
In addition to the new planning division appeal fee structure, changes to the proposed updated fee schedule since March 10 include a new collection agency service fee set at 33% of the amount of debt involved.
“This is a highly efficient option for the City to utilize and can be cost effective when the collection cost of 33% is passed on to the debtor,” Budget Program Manager Yuliya Elbo wrote in a staff report. “This fee addition is in alignment with the Council’s cost recovery goals and also doesn’t put the cost of delinquent accounts on the San Ramon taxpayer.”
The proposed update also includes a new $30 per month fee for firearms storage.
All in all, 521 of the 1,013 of the city’s municipal fees are set to be changed under the proposed update, with a total of 12 new fees introduced across its general government, police department, and parks and community services division.
The San Ramon City Council is poised to continue the public hearing on the item from March 10 and consider a vote on the update Tuesday (April 14) at 7 p.m. The agenda is available here.
In other business
*The council is set to continue discussions on the budgeting process for the next fiscal year, with a workshop reviewing the city’s revenue over the past year on the docket this week ahead of a preliminary budget presentation set for next month.
*HR Director Megan O’Donoghue is set to provide an annual presentation on vacancies on the city staff and recruitment and retention efforts.
