Resident's Corrected Version: Cost Benefit Analysis for Phase One Fleet Electrification Laguna Beach City Council, October 13, 2026, Item 11 (EV charging). Prepared by Aaron Peluso, Laguna Beach resident. This follows the layout of the staff analysis in the agenda packet (pp. 704 to 709) and adds present value, a secured funds case, the omitted charger upkeep, and a hybrid option. Present values use 3.49%, the City portfolio yield as of August 31, 2026 (packet p. 73). This is a resident's estimate, not a City document.
Scenario 1: Projected Fuel Costs ($6.00 gas, $7.20 diesel) Key Results
Staff totals (pp. 704 to 706) are reproduced exactly: ICE $34,380,215 vs EV $31,554,219, a staff difference of $2,825,997 in favor of EV. Adding the $35,000 per year charger upkeep raises the EV total to $31,904,219. In present value terms, ICE costs $29,838,022, the staff EV plan $28,917,309 if every outside dollar arrives, $31,373,532 with secured funds only, and the hybrid option $28,234,392.
Table 1. 10-Year Cost Comparison, ICE vs. EV Scenario (resident's corrected version) Cost Element Staff ICE Staff EV Staff difference Corrected EV (upkeep added)
Present value
ICE
Present value EV
(all funds)
PV EV (secured
funds only) PV Hybrid option
Vehicle Cost $14,245,632 $20,971,452 +$6,725,820 $20,971,452 $13,084,440 $19,262,024 $19,262,024 $16,583,789 Fuel / Electricity Cost $15,485,349 $6,184,750 -$9,300,599 $6,184,750 $12,885,047 $5,146,206 $5,146,206 $7,685,297 Maintenance Cost $4,649,235 $2,923,059 -$1,726,176 $2,923,059 $3,868,535 $2,432,219 $2,432,219 $3,089,516 EVSE Capital $1,779,518 +$1,779,518 $1,779,518 $1,749,513 $1,749,513 Engineering & Construction $3,643,537 +$3,643,537 $3,643,537 $3,582,101 $3,582,101 $3,421,564 Charger upkeep (added, p.148) $350,000 $291,228 $291,228 $192,087 HVIP Incentive ($1,110,000) -$1,110,000 ($1,110,000) ($1,019,521) $0 ($1,019,521) SCE Rebate, Make Ready ($890,155) -$890,155 ($890,155) ($860,136) ($860,136) ($609,077) SCE Rebate, Transit Chargers ($235,000) -$235,000 ($235,000) ($219,417) $0 ($219,417) LCFS Credit ($1,462,941) -$1,462,941 ($1,462,941) ($1,217,284) $0 ($660,222) MSRC Funding ($250,000) -$250,000 ($250,000) ($229,622) ($229,622) ($229,622) Total 10-Year Cost $34,380,215 $31,554,219 -$2,825,997 $31,904,219 $29,838,022 $28,917,309 $31,373,532 $28,234,392 In plain English: once timing is counted, the EV plan saves $920,713 compared with ICE in today's dollars if every outside dollar arrives; with secured funds only it costs $1,535,510 more than ICE. The hybrid option saves $1,603,630 compared with ICE with all funds and costs $295,530 more than ICE with secured funds only.
Note: Staff columns are copied from the packet; parentheses are incentives or revenue. PV columns include upkeep. Hybrid option: Corporation Yard chargers only, EVs for medium and heavy duty vehicles, hybrids for 54 light duty vehicles.
Scenario 2: Reduced Fuel Costs ($5.00 gas, $6.00 diesel) Key Results
Staff totals (pp. 707 to 709) are reproduced exactly: ICE $31,799,324 vs EV $31,554,219, a staff difference of $245,105 in favor of EV. Adding the $35,000 per year charger upkeep raises the EV total to $31,904,219. In present value terms, ICE costs $27,690,514, the staff EV plan $28,917,309 if every outside dollar arrives, $31,373,532 with secured funds only, and the hybrid option $27,418,702.
Table 1. 10-Year Cost Comparison, ICE vs. EV Scenario (resident's corrected version) Cost Element Staff ICE Staff EV Staff difference Corrected EV (upkeep added)
Present value
ICE
Present value EV
(all funds)
PV EV (secured
funds only) PV Hybrid option
Vehicle Cost $14,245,632 $20,971,452 +$6,725,820 $20,971,452 $13,084,440 $19,262,024 $19,262,024 $16,583,789 Fuel / Electricity Cost $12,904,457 $6,184,750 -$6,719,707 $6,184,750 $10,737,539 $5,146,206 $5,146,206 $6,869,607 Maintenance Cost $4,649,235 $2,923,059 -$1,726,176 $2,923,059 $3,868,535 $2,432,219 $2,432,219 $3,089,516 EVSE Capital $1,779,518 +$1,779,518 $1,779,518 $1,749,513 $1,749,513 Engineering & Construction $3,643,537 +$3,643,537 $3,643,537 $3,582,101 $3,582,101 $3,421,564 Charger upkeep (added, p.148) $350,000 $291,228 $291,228 $192,087 HVIP Incentive ($1,110,000) -$1,110,000 ($1,110,000) ($1,019,521) $0 ($1,019,521) SCE Rebate, Make Ready ($890,155) -$890,155 ($890,155) ($860,136) ($860,136) ($609,077) SCE Rebate, Transit Chargers ($235,000) -$235,000 ($235,000) ($219,417) $0 ($219,417) LCFS Credit ($1,462,941) -$1,462,941 ($1,462,941) ($1,217,284) $0 ($660,222) MSRC Funding ($250,000) -$250,000 ($250,000) ($229,622) ($229,622) ($229,622) Total 10-Year Cost $31,799,324 $31,554,219 -$245,105 $31,904,219 $27,690,514 $28,917,309 $31,373,532 $27,418,702 In plain English: once timing is counted, the EV plan costs $1,226,795 more than ICE in today's dollars if every outside dollar arrives; with secured funds only it costs $3,683,018 more than ICE. The hybrid option saves $271,811 compared with ICE with all funds and costs $1,627,350 more than ICE with secured funds only.
Note: Staff columns are copied from the packet; parentheses are incentives or revenue. PV columns include upkeep. Hybrid option: Corporation Yard chargers only, EVs for medium and heavy duty vehicles, hybrids for 54 light duty vehicles.
What Drives the Cost Difference?
• Time value of money: staff adds dollars from different years as if equal. About $5.4 million in charger costs is paid up front (EVSE plus engineering and construction, p. 704), while fuel and maintenance savings arrive over 10 years. Discounting at the City's own 3.49% yield shrinks the later savings. • Outside funds counted as certain: staff subtracts all $3.95 million in incentives. The HVIP voucher ($1.11 million) is uncertain and the LCFS amount ($1.46 million) is uncertain.
The secured funds column removes HVIP, LCFS and the trolley charger rebate. • Charger upkeep omitted: the staff report lists about $35,000 per year (p. 148), and the August report showed about $282,052 per year (p. 154, $2,820,520 over 10 years).
Neither appears in Table 1. This version adds the $35,000 figure; the higher figure would add roughly $2.1 million in present value more. • Scope: Engineering and construction includes City Hall chargers (about $1.94 million) that serve light duty vehicles; the mandate does not require them, and the packet gives no count of vehicles over 8,500 lb. The hybrid option builds only the Corporation Yard portion ($3,480,246, p. 145). • Copy error: p. 708 says the EV scenario is "approximately $2.8 million less expensive" on the $5 page, but its own table (p. 707) shows $245,105.
Outside Funding: Staff Treatment and Likelihood
Source Amount Staff treatment Likelihood Page
SCE make ready rebate $890,155 Counted in full Very likely (Dec 31 deadline) p. 704, 145 MSRC trolley award $250,000 Counted in full Very likely (awarded) p. 704, 706 SCE transit (trolley) charger rebate $235,000 Counted in full Likely p. 704 HVIP vouchers $1,110,000 Counted in full Uncertain p. 704 LCFS credits $1,462,941 Counted in full Likely some, amount uncertain p. 704 Federal 30C / 45W credits $0 Not counted Not available n/a In plain English: about $2.8 million of the $3.95 million staff counts (HVIP, LCFS, trolley charger rebate) is not yet in hand.
Key Assumptions (resident's version)
• All staff line items, totals, fuel prices ($6.00 and $5.00 gas; $7.20 and $6.00 diesel; about $0.25/kWh) and the 10 year period are taken from pp. 704 to 709 unchanged. • Discount rate 3.49%, the City's weighted average portfolio yield as of August 31, 2026 (p. 73). Year 0 is FY 2026-27. • Timing (staff gives 10 year totals only): charger costs paid half in year 0 and half in year 1; SCE make ready rebate in year 1; vehicles bought evenly in years 1 to 4 for both ICE and EV; fuel, electricity, maintenance, upkeep and LCFS spread evenly over years 1 to 10; HVIP and MSRC received with vehicle purchases; trolley charger rebate in year 2. • Hybrid option (middle case): 54 light duty vehicles become hybrids at $3,000 more each with 17% lower fuel use; the other 64 medium and heavy duty vehicles go electric, carrying 64/118 of staff's EV vehicle, fuel, maintenance and LCFS differences; Corporation Yard chargers only ($3,480,246) with $630,334 SCE rebate (p. 145); upkeep scaled to 31 of 47 chargers. Low and high hybrid cases change the hybrid PV by roughly $0.3 million either way. • Sources: Item 11 agenda packet, October 13, 2026: p. 73 (Treasurer), pp. 144 to 148 (staff report), p. 151, p. 154 (August report), pp. 704 to 709 (cost benefit analysis). Model and full results available on request.