CITYWIDE FEE STUDY OVERVIEW AND
CONSIDERATION
MAY 19, 2026
1 • History
• Fee Analysis and Compilation Process
• Policy Considerations
• Legal Compliance
• Timeline
• Matrix Consulting Overview
Overview
2 3
HISTORY
• Last Master Fee Schedule Comprehensive Study = Dec. 2007 • Various incremental updates over past 19 years
• No current inflationary adjustment for most fees
• Awarded a consultant agreement with Matrix Consulting = April 2024
• Phase 1: Cost Allocation Plan complete and published in 2025 • Phase 2: Complete Citywide Fee Study
Master Fee Schedule Facts
Poway reviewed and updated over 800 fees as included in the Attachment A.
Incorporates fees from various user beneficial categories, including; • Administrative Services (Finance)
• Community Services
• Fire Department
• Planning Services
• Code Compliance
• Housing
• Building Services
• Engineering
4 • Consultant: Matrix
• Process:
• Analyze service costs
• Coordination between staff and consultant on costs and time estimates (bottom up)
• Incorporate overhead and ancillary costs
• Consider feasibility and goals
• Incorporate best practices in recommendations
Fee Analysis and Compilation Process
5 Policy Considerations
6 • Individual/Group benefit vs Global Benefit
• Full Cost Recovery vs Subsidy
• “Don’t harm the little guy”
• Avoid disincentivizing compliance
• Generally, growth pays for growth
• Annual Inflationary Index adjustments between rate studies Legal Compliance
7 • Proposition 26: passed in 2010, specifically outlines the difference between a fee and a tax and dictates that fees must be directly related to a service and cannot exceed the reasonable cost of that service. • CA Government Code § 50076: clarifies that fees for service costs are not special taxes and do not need voter approval.
• CA Government Code § 65104: gives local governments the authority to charge planning and zoning fees to recover processing costs. • May 19, 2026 – City Council meeting
• Upon approval starts a 60-day period before implementation • July 20, 2026 = Fees become effective
• July 1, 2027 begins annual Consumer Price Index Inflationary Adjustment
Timeline
8 Matrix Consulting Overview
9 COMPREHENSIVE USER
FEE STUDY RESULTS
CITY OF POWAY, CALIFORNIA
MATRIX
CONSULTING GROUP
11 STUDY OBJECTIVES
STREAMLINE FEE
STRUCTURE
Consolidate, Expand, Add /
Remove Fees
LEGAL COMPLIANCE
Compliance with Prop 26 &
CA Gov Code
TIME ASSUMPTIONS
Identify the average level
of effort associated with
activities
COMPARATIVE SURVEY
Benchmark against other
jurisdictions
FULLY BURDENED
HOURLY RATES
Determine direct and
indirect costs
MASTER FEE LISTING
Provide all existing and
proposed fees in a
comprehensive manner
COMPREHENSIVE CITYWIDE FEE STUDY RESULTS
m
12COMPREHENSIVE CITYWIDE FEE STUDY RESULTS
TIME ESTIMATE
FULLY BURDENED
HOURLY RATE
FULL COST FEE
• Average staff time by position title spent per permit, appl
ication, or fee-related activity.
• Salaries, Benefits, Productive Hours, Services & Supplies, S
upervisory Support, and Citywide Overhead.
• Maximum justifiable fee that can be assessed
FEE CALCULATION METHODOLOGY
m
13 First Fee Study
N/A
The City has not
previously conducted
a comprehensive fee
study; this is the first
analysis of its kind
Fees Reviewed
470+
Flat fees, valuation-
based fees, regulatory
fees, deposit-based
fees, actual cost, etc.
Under-Recovery
$2.2M
Total gap between
current revenues and
full cost to provide the
service
Cost Recovery
59%
Overall recovery rate
across all service areas
FEE STUDY FINDINGS
COMPREHENSIVE CITYWIDE FEE STUDY RESULTS
m
14COMPREHENSIVE CITYWIDE FEE STUDY RESULTS
FEE STUDY RESULTS
Division
Revenue at Current
Fee Total Cost Difference
Current Cost
Recovery %
Building $1,687,247 $1,909,586 ($222,339) 88%
Code Compliance $44,350 $57,532 ($13,182) 77%
Engineering $682,710 $1,279,791 ($597,081) 53%
Finance $224,181 $527,659 ($303,478) 42%
Fire $398,586 $906,563 ($507,976) 44%
Planning $129,037 $655,190 ($526,153) 20%
Total $3,166,112 $5,336,320 ($2,170,208) 59%
The largest deficits are in Engineering ($597K), Planning ($526K), and Fire ($508K).
Building has the highest recovery at 88%; Planning the lowest at 20%. m
15COMPREHENSIVE CITYWIDE FEE STUDY RESULTS
Seek input from Council on proposed
Master Fee Schedule.
Adopt an annual fee escalator (CPI or
COLA) to ensure costs keep pace with fee
increases.
Conduct a comprehensive fee reevaluation
every 5-7 years to account for organizational,
process, and technology changes.
NEXT STEPS