July 1, 2025
TO: City Council
REQUESTED BY: Erika Gomez, Finance Director
APPROVED BY: Robert A. Johnson, City Manager
SUBJECT: Report of City-Wide User Fee Increase
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council receive and file the report of City-Wide User Fee increases.
DISCUSSION:
As part of a general cost recovery strategy, local governments adopt user fees to fund services that provide limited or no direct benefit to the community as a whole.
User Fees recover costs associated with providing specific services, which benefit the user, thereby reducing the use of General Fund monies for such purposes. Cost recovery objectives can be based on a variety of factors, including public versus private benefits provided by the service. If an activity has a public benefit, it might be more appropriately supported by the General Fund. Conversely, if an activity has mostly private benefits, it might be more appropriately supported by fees. Activities that have a mix of public and private benefits may be supported by the combination of fees and the General Fund.
In an effort to both understand and establish appropriate levels of cost recovery for City services, the City entered into a Professional Services Agreement with Willdan Financial Services for a City-Wide User Fee Study and City-Wide Cost Allocation Plan in 2019. The Study found that fee increases were necessary to achieve the City’s objective of full cost recovery.
On August 15, 2023, a Public Hearing was held to consider the proposed fee increases, and the San Jacinto City Council voted unanimously to approve the recommended fee schedule. The fees were set by Resolution 4000, which also defined the escalation factor and included a provision requiring that the annual fee increase be presented to the City Council as an informational item.
Accordingly, the City’s user fee schedule, effective July 1, 2025, is attached to this staff report.
FISCAL IMPACT:
User fees have been increased by a factor of 1.1%. This increase will assist in defraying the rising cost of providing the services identified in the User Fee Schedule due to inflation.
ATTACHMENTS:
Comprehensive User Fee Schedule
Resolution No. 4000