June 27, 2023
Finance Department
DATE: June 27, 2023
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Nickie Mastay, Deputy City Manager, Internal Services
LaShonda White, Deputy City Manager, Community
Services
Mubeen Qader, Deputy Director of Finance
Antonio Banuelos, Accounting Manager
Subject:
Approval of Fees for a Revised Master Fee Schedule
FINANCIAL IMPACT: This update of the Master Fee Schedule adjusts User Fees by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Cost
Index (ECI). The ECI adjusts for wage rate inflation in local governments. For those fees adjusted in 2022, the inflation factor is 9.1 percent. For fees adopted as part of the User Fee Study in 2022, the ECI adjustment is 6.4
percent.
Based on the level of activity in the prior year, the
proposed fee adjustments would generate additional
annual revenue totaling $815,000 for the City of
Richmond across various departments and funds.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
May 16, 2023 and June 6, 2023
On May 16, 2023: City Council approved first reading of an ordinance establishing Commercial Cannabis
Regulatory fees. City Council approved the second
reading of the ordinance establishing Commercial
Cannabis Regulatory fees on June 6, 2023.
AGENDA
REPORT
June 27, 2023
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
Sections 2.34.040 (Schedule of fees and service
charges) and 13.45.020 (Approval of adjustments by City Council) of the Richmond Municipal Code authorize
periodic adjustments to all City levied fees and charges, subject to approval by the City Council. City staff is requesting adoption of a resolution adjusting the dollar amount for current fees as outlined in the proposed
Master Fee Schedule.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
ADOPT a resolution adjusting the dollar amount for
current fees except for Recreation fees which will remain as is; and PROVIDE DIRECTION to City staff on how to
proceed with an analysis of Recreation rental fees. Staff will return in first half of Fiscal Year 2023-2024 to review the analysis and make recommendations regarding new
proposed Recreation fees – Finance Department
(Mubeen Qader/Antonio Banuelos 510-620- 6741).
DISCUSSION:
Section 2.34.040 of the Richmond Municipal Code (RMC) (Schedule of fees and service charges) provides that “The City Manager shall review the fees and charges based upon the review schedule set forth (herein) and shall set and adjust the fees or charges so as to recover up to the … costs reasonably necessary to provide the listed regulations, products or services.”
Additionally, Sections 13.45.010 and 13.45.020 of the RMC, as recently amended by the Richmond City Council on May 2, 2023, further provides that
The Director of Finance of the City shall adjust all city -levied taxes, fees and charges provided for in the Richmond Municipal Code on a yearly basis, or as needed, in accordance with any increase or decrease in the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Cost Index (ECI), State and Local Government Workers component, during the preceding fiscal year.
Additionally, a comprehensive fee study should be conducted at least every five years.
And
Each year, the Director of Finance shall submit to the City Council a report listing all proposed adjustments for approval. No proposed adjustment shall take effect until it is approved by the City Council. The Council may reject, but may not modify, any one or more of the proposed adjustments in any report before approving the adjustments.
This update of the Master Fee Schedule adjusts user fees by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Cost Index (ECI). The ECI adjusts for wage rate inflation in local
June 27, 2023
governments. In this update, City staff is proposing to update fees by 6.4 percent or 9.1 percent. The 6.4 percent inflation factor will be used for those fees rates that were part of the User Fee Study update from Willdan and approved in March and May 2022. The
6.4 percent corresponds to the change of the ECI from the previous fee adoption date.
The 9.1 percent inflation factor will be used for most other fees that were not part of the User Fee Study. This 9.1 percent change factor captures the change in ECI adopted in March 2022 and May 2022 that used the 2021 ECI index.
The Finance Department has worked with Willdan Financial Services to develop the City of Richmond’s Impact Fee and User Fee reports. The scope of services provided under this program are designed to produce reports used in updating the Master Fee Schedule to help better capture City costs incurred in providing City services and to offset the impacts of new development. The Impact Fee section is still pending, and Finance staff will return shortly with those proposed changes.
The Master Fee Schedule proposed for adoption by the City Council includes the following changes and/or adjustments:
The fee schedule is adjusted to reflect the change in the ECI, as provided in Section 13.45.010 of the RMC. The effective date for fees adjusted by the ECI is 30 days after City Council’s final approval of the ordinance amendment and adoption of the resolution.
The Subregional Transportation Mitigation Program (STMP) fees included in the Impact fees section are set by West Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee (“WCCTAC”). The updated rates are effective July 1, 2023. (Attachment 4 – STMP Memo).
The Transportation – Parking Management fees were part of the User Fee study and should have been included in the 2022 update but were not. The proposed fees found in this update are those from the study plus the ECI increase applied to the rest of the fees in the User Fee study.
City staff is currently working with Willdan Financial in finalizing the Impact Fees.
The scope of services provided under this program is designed to produce reports used in the updating of the Master Fee Schedule to help better capture City costs in providing City services and to offset the impacts of new development.
The Library is proposing to adjust cost-recovery printing fee changes that were not implemented, maintaining the B&W cost at $0.10 and raising the full-color cost to $0.50. The Library is also proposing the elimination of the processing fee, which is regularly waived, as it imposes an unnecessary burden on those least able to afford it.
The Recreation facility rental fees for the various sites display the current
June 27, 2023
discounts given to both rentals to other government agencies (discount of 50 percent) and non-profit rentals (discount of 25 percent).
History of Recreation’s Rental Fees
A common practice among all government agencies having rental facilities is to provide discounts for renting facilities to its residents and non-profit organizations. Prior to 2017, the Recreation Division was also offering rental discounts at the Resident and Non-Resident rates. At this time, the practice was that when we created a contract for reserving a facility, because of the way our fee schedule was structured, it required staff to individually enter all equipment, staffing, janitorial costs, and any other costs associated with the contract. This was a very time-consuming task for staff as this caused delays in completing the contract and responding to customers. During that time, the City transitioning to a new ERP system. After discussion with Director and the City Manager, staff decided to streamline the reservation process for rentals by packaging the rental fees so that we could eliminate so many steps to the application process. The new process provided an easier reservation process for staff, community members, and quicker response times to rental requests.
Discounts Prior to Packaging Rental Fees
Prior to packaging our rental fees, the Recreation Division offered discount options in the following categories:
1. Richmond residents received a different rate to rent the facilities in comparison to non-residents.
2. City Department sponsored events received a 25% discount.
3. Richmond based nonprofits received a 25% discount for community centers; 50% discount for the Convention Center
4. Non-Richmond nonprofits paid full price for community centers and received a 25% discount for the Convention Center
5. The City of Richmond also offered a City Council approved Subsidy Program funding for Richmond nonprofit organizations. The total Subsidy Program funding was $50,000. It was available on a first-come, first-served basis and when the funding ran out, there were no other funds to support any additional requests.
Packaged Rental Rates
The packaged rental rates changed to include the charge for the space rental, the minimum required attendants, and janitorial supplies. For example, the Rental Rates for the entire Convention Center changed when the Master Fee Schedule was approved by Council on 7/1/2017 where the packaged rate of $1,500/hour included three staff attendants and janitorial supplies. However, in 2018 in response to public requests, the packaged rental fees were lowered and approved by City Council on
June 27, 2023
7/26/2018. Although the Master Fee Schedule has moved forward with ECI increases each year, Recreation fees have remained the same since 2018. In 2022 new rally and demonstration fees were added and the deposit fees were rounded down.
Current Comparison of Discount Policy for Rental Fees for Indoor Facilities/Parks:
Local Cities Rental Discounts City of Richmond Rental Discounts For local City users, discounts are offered in
the below categories:
i. Resident rate
ii. Nonprofit Organization rate
iii. For profit Organization rate
For Outside of local City users:
i. Nonresident rate
ii. Nonprofit Organization rate
iii. For-profit organization rate
i. Governmental Agencies such as Contra
Costa County, WCCUSD - 50% discount
ii. Nonprofit Organizations – 25% discount
Fee Waiver and Partnership Policies
The Fee Waiver and Partnership Policies were approved by City Council in July 2022.
This is a process by which Richmond nonprofit organizations can apply to have their rental fees reduced up to 100 percent. We have approved all of the requests received to date. Here is a report of the Fee Waivers since 2022; a list of partnerships that have so far been approved and a list of partnerships we are working on:
June 27, 2023
FEE WAIVER REPORT FOR 2022 AND 2023
2022 Fee Waivers
Organization/
Individual Name
Date of
Event
Event Site Event Type Amount
Waived
The Watershed Project 8/12/2022 Shimada Park Coastal Cleanup $759.00 The Watershed Project
10/26/202
2 Shimada Park Bioswale
Maintenance Day
$174.00
Peacemakers, Inc. 7/15/2022 Nicholl Park
Soulful Softball
Sunday
$953.00
Employment and
Training/Richmond
Police Activities
League (RPAL)
8/8/2022 Civic Center Plaza Resource Fair $1,594.00
Richmond Police
Activities League
(RPAL
8/16/2022 Nicholl Park Free Baseball
Clinic
$638.00
Reset Richmond 8/30/2022 Nicholl Park Black Family Day $830.00 Ground Works 9/12/2022 JFK Park Arbor Day $491.00
Britnie Stuward 10/15/202
2 Sidewalk on 409 S.
16th Street
Love Your Block
Project - Clean up
and installation of
Little Library
$50.00
Public
Works/Greenway Gap
Group
11/22/202
2 Greenway Community Event $516.00
YES Nature to
Neighborhoods
12/27/202
2 Nicholl Park Love Your Block
Project - Garden
expansion/beautific
ation project
$298.00
TOTAL WAIVED
IN 2022
$6,303.00
June 27, 2023
2023 FEE WAIVERS
Organization/
Individual Name
Date of Event Event Site Event Type Amount
Waived
Rosie the Riveter
Trust
1/20/2023 Unity Park Love Your Block
park cleanup
$859.00
Rosie the Riveter
Trust
4/26/2023 Parchester
Village
Love Your Block
Parchester Village
beautification
$286.00
West Coast Chess
Alliance
2/6/2023 Richmond
Recreation
Complex
Chess Tournament $1,235.00
Greenbriar
Neighborhood
Council
1/21/2023 Kipling Court in
Richmond
Love Your Block
Program -
beautification
program
$50.00
Ground Works 2/1/2023 Nicholl Park Love Your Block
Program - meet and
greet at Skate Park
for beautification of
space
$255.00
Friends of Dirt World 2/13/2023;
3/18/23; 4/15/23;
5/13/23
Dirt World space Park Cleanup
through Adopt a
Spot Agreement
$100.00
Mendocino Park
Pollinator Gardening
Group
3/14/23; 4/24/23 Mendocino Park Love Your Block
Program -
gardening work
party
$479.00
Richmond LAND 3/29/2023 Parkway at
Vernon
Lover Your Block
Program -
Fenceline public art
installation
$100.00
June 27, 2023
Community Housing
Development
Corporation
4/3/2023 North Richmond
Ballfield
Earth Day
Celebrations
$432.00
Iron Triangle
Neighborhood
Council
5/10/2023 Nevin Avenue Love Your Block
Event-road closure
$100.00
TOTAL WAIVED IN
2023
$3,896.00
GRAND TOTAL
WAIVED
$10,199.00
Partnerships FY22/23
Organization/ Individual Name Type Amount
Waived
APROVED 2023 Partnerships
West Coast Chess Alliance Free Chess Program/Tournaments $1,235.00 R & R Hospitality Free culinary training for youth and free meals for seniors (approved by Council
for a waiver of $19,928-the cost to rent
the kitchen)
$3,124.00
TOTAL WAIVED IN 2023 $4,359.00
IN PROGRESS
18 Reasons Cooking program TBD
Ice Man Snow Day for kids TBD
West County Adult School Various adult programs TBD
Youth Tennis Advantage Tennis program TBD
RPAL/Little League Baseball program TBD
June 27, 2023
Richmond Tennis Association (RTA) Tennis program TBD
Richmond Friends of Recreation
(RFOR)
Fiscal Sponsor
TBD
Teen Eco with EBRPD Teen program TBD
Jaguar Speed Inc. Track and Field TBD
RSOL Soccer program TBD
Weigh of Life Zumba, fitness, and nutrition TBD
Richmond Swims Swimming program TBD
Youth Tennis Advantage Youth Tennis program TBD
Recommended Next Steps
1. Approve all but Community Services – Recreation Master Fee Schedule updates.
2. Provide direction to staff on how to proceed regarding recreation fees.
3. Staff to return in FY23/24 with an update regarding recreation fees after receiving Council direction.
NEXT STEPS:
City staff will also return in the next few weeks with proposed updates to the impact fees, including the traffic impact fees, that are currently being developed by its impact fee consultant, Willdan Financial. Due to recent legislation, further technical work is required to justify traffic impacts fees by developing a long-term plan that demonstrates how a City will expand its transportation resources in order to mitigate the impacts of new development. Public Works staff is updating a list of traffic projects (with one of the City’s on-call consultants). This list of projects may include projects which facilitate movement of traffic, mitigate safety impacts, and/or address the growing requirements for all travel modes consistent with SB 743 (e.g., complete streets, bicycle projects, pedestrian improvements, transit improvements, etc.).
Additionally, City staff will return to City Council with an amendment to the contract with Willdan Financial requesting to amend the scope. We seek to review fees collected and determine if there are additional fees collected by other cities that we could incorporate into the Master Fee Schedule.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Proposed Master Fee Schedule
Attachment 2 – STMP Memo
Attachment 3 – Resolution
Attachment 4 - Presentation