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FINANCIAL STATEMENT <br /> Based upon 2014/15FY data for over 200 development related user fees, the City is <br /> expending $8.840 million for private development related services and recovering <br /> approximately $4.254 million in revenue. The net result is an annual subsidy of <br /> approximately $4.586 million by the General Fund of development related services. <br /> The recommended fee increases would reduce this subsidy by approximately $2.739 <br /> million to a new annual subsidy of approximately $1.847 million based on development <br /> volume anticipated in the 2014/15FY. If the Council adopts the new fee schedule in <br /> June 2015 the recommendation is for the new fees to take effect on September 1, 2015. <br /> The Two Year Budget, to be adopted by the Council in June 2015 will be updated to <br /> reflect the new fees and the reduced subsidy from the General Fund for these services <br /> starting in the 2015/16FY. <br /> BACKGROUND <br /> The City conducted a fee study of certain development related services based on the <br /> premise that there are certain services that the City provides that are of special benefit <br /> to an individual or business that should not be a cost or financial burden to the general <br /> taxpayer. Additionally, there are certain development related activities by individuals or <br /> businesses that require specific additional regulation that are appropriately considered <br /> not the financial responsibility of the general taxpayer. One of the City's financial <br /> policies is to have development pay 100% of the cost to provide City services. In 2009, <br /> the City hired PRM to prepare a review and analysis of the City's direct and indirect <br /> costs associated with the delivery of development related services (Study). Based on <br /> the City's accounting records, the analysis tabulated the full cost of providing <br /> development related services including both direct and indirect costs. The review and <br /> analysis then recommended certain cost recovery levels for each fee based on <br /> economic and policy considerations (the "Recommended Cost Recovery Level"). The <br /> Recommended Cost Recovery Level was then compared with revenues currently <br /> received for these services to determine the recommended cost recovery rate for each <br /> service. <br /> DISCUSSION <br /> The Study presented the cost of providing development related services by individual <br /> divisions including building and safety, fire prevention, planning and engineering. Staff <br /> has updated the Study's findings which were based on the 2007/08FY expenditures to <br /> the current budget year (2014/15FY) revenue and expenditures. The following is a brief <br /> summary of the findings by division: <br /> Building and Safety Division <br /> The Building and Safety Division (Building Division) provides the following services: <br /> permit processing, plan checking, building inspections and investigations of complaints <br /> regarding potentially dangerous buildings. The City's goal has been to recover 100% of <br /> the cost of these services in the fees charged by the Building Division. However, the <br /> Study found that in 2007/08FY the Building Division recovered approximately 88% of <br /> the cost of these services. In the past several years the Building Division's cost recovery <br /> Page 2 of 9 <br />