Attachment A - Fiscal Year 26-27 Proposed Rates and Fees Document

City of Visalia
Proposed Rates & Fees
FY 2026-27

Table of Contents
Page #
Policy and Procedures – City
1 Policy and Procedures – Parks & Recreation
3 General Fees
Administration
General Government and Finance
10 Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
11 Business Tax
12 Engineering and Building
Engineering
14 Grading Permit Fees
16 Parks and Recreation
17 Planning and Community Preservation
Planning
22 Community Preservation (Code Enforcement)
26 Public Safety
Fire
27 Police
29 Public Works
Sidewalk & Drive Approach Improvements
31 Impact Fees
Administration
Public Facilities – Civic Center, Corporation Yard, & Library 33 Public Safety – Fire & Police
34 Planning and Community Preservation
Groundwater Overdraft Mitigation and Impact Fee
35 Northeast Area Development
36 Park Acquisition & Development
37 Parking In-Lieu
38 Storm Drainage & Waterway Acquisition
39 Storm Drainage Credits
40 Transportation
41 Treatment Plant Connection Capacity
43 Truck Line Connection Capacity
44 Enterprise Fees
Airport
46 Animal Services
47 Building Safety
49 Elevator Fees
55 Construction & Demolition
56 Convention Center
57 Solid Waste
62 Sewer – Sanitary and Storm Connections & Permits
72 Groundwater Recharge
75 Transit
76 Rates & Fees
Administrative Policy and Procedures

PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to set forth the procedures for the review, revision, and approval of the City’s rates and fees.

POLICY
It shall be the policy of the City to establish fees and charges for City services, which reimburse the City for the associated services unless specified otherwise by the City Council.

All fees and charges shall be reviewed annually, or sooner, if needed, to ensure they are adequate and correlate with their associated costs.

All fees and charges adopted herein shall be superseded by State or Federal legal requirements setting fees and charges if at different amounts.

PROCEDURES
Annually, Finance shall request city departments to review their rates and fees and propose adjustments.

Upon receipt of the requested adjustments, Finance shall review them to ensure they comply with the City Council’s policy for reimbursement of the associated costs.

Upon completion of this review, the proposed new rates and fees shall be reviewed by the appropriate advisory Committee or Commission and forwarded by Finance to the City Manager for final review and approval prior to being submitted to the City Council.

After review and approval by the City Manager, the new rates and fees shall be identified in the Rates and Fees Resolution.

The rates and fees shall be used to estimate revenues for specific city programs as requested in the proposed budget.

The Public Hearing on the proposed rates and fees, if required, shall be scheduled at a regular City Council meeting.

Generally, all adjustments to the City’s rates and fees are to be considered at one time prior to the review and adoption of the budget. Changes in some rates and fees become effective on a date other than the first day of the new fiscal year. See Effective Date below for details.

Should new services or documents become available during the year, the new rate(s) or fee(s) may be developed and implemented using the same criteria as similar rates or fees. These new items would then be included in the next review if continued use is anticipated.

BASIS FOR ADJUSTMENTS
Generally, adjustments to rates and fees are based on established annual indexes, including the following:

California Consumer Price Index (CCPI)
Engineering News Record Construction Costs Index (ENRCCI) U.S. Consumer Price Index – Urban Consumers (CPI-U)
In addition to these indices, some rates and fees are adjusted using other bases to determine fees. For example, the following bases are also used in limited cases to adjust rates and fees:

Cost of providing service
Cost reimbursement
Survey of fees from surrounding communities
Special surcharges due to specific costs
Subsidy by the General Fund
Rounding
Certain rates and fees may not be required to be adjusted. For example, if an Enterprise Fund can continue to fund operations without an increase, none will be recommended.

EFFECTIVE DATES
Adjustments to rates and fees generally become effective on the first day of the next fiscal year. (e.g., General Fund and Enterprise Funds) Adjustments to Impact Fees are effective 60 days after the date of the Public Hearing on which the new rates were adopted.

In certain circumstances, a rate or fee may be brought before the Council, and adjustments may be adopted during the fiscal year for immediate change or changes over a specified number of years.

City of Visalia
Parks and Recreation Department
Fee Policy

BACKGROUND
The Parks and Recreation Department wishes to provide meaningful recreational opportunities to meet the physical, cultural, mental and economic needs of the citizens of Visalia. It is our desire to enhance the quality of life in Visalia by providing open space, recreation facilities and programs for all citizens. Providing an array of quality recreational opportunities is an increasingly complex task due to 1) demands for new and expanded services, 2) demands to retain older services, 3) increases in operating expenses, and 4) priorities of allocating limited City general fund dollars. Fiscal responsibility mandates the adoption of a sound and consistent fee and charge policy that will guide the generation of revenue to supplement the General Fund’s support of park and recreation programs and services.

Fiscal goals of the Parks and Recreation Department include:

To become less dependent upon tax support from the City and to become more self-sufficient.

To substantially increase the proportion of the services and operations funded through user fees. The department will make a concerted effort to track its costs for facilities and operations and ensure program costs are better covered by fees charged.

To view programs and services more as an enterprise. Even though the department is a public agency, the City of Visalia is limited by the funds it can provide for all of its services, let alone those not viewed as essential by many taxpayers.

In order to continue as a vital, progressive agency in the community, we need to adopt a more entrepreneurial, business-like and fiscally aware approach to our operations.

STATEMENT OF PHILOSOPHY
The philosophy of The City of Visalia Parks and Recreation Department is to offer year-round, diversified park and recreation programs and services, at reasonable and equitable rates designed to meet the needs of the citizens of Visalia. Fees and charges will be viewed as a method to equitably provide and expand services without an inordinate impact on the General Fund, while ensuring where fees are implemented, they are kept at a fair market value in order to encourage participation. Because the demand for services is greater than the municipality’s ability to appropriate funds to support the demand, it becomes necessary to charge new fees, increase some existing fees and pursue additional supplementary revenues and resources.

Fees and charges for parks, recreation and cultural services will provide only one source of funding for the department. Other sources will include general fund appropriations, grants, sponsorships, special gifts, donations and in-kind contributions.

VISALIA’S PRICE MODEL
The Parks and Recreation Department will follow a cost recovery method based on benefits. This model utilizes general fund dollars for programs, services, and facilities that benefit the community as a whole and allows user fees to support programs and services that focus on benefits to individuals. “Attachment A” shows our proposed Cost Recovery Pyramid with the following categories to be used to set program fees based on cost recovery rates:

Category A: Community Benefit – Programs, facilities and services that benefit the community as a whole.

These programs, facilities and services can increase property values, provide safety, address social needs, and enhance the quality of life for residents. The community pays for these basic services and facilities through taxes and may utilize free of charge. Such programs or services can include parks and open space, educational programs, health and wellness activities, community-wide special events, family activities and gang prevention programs.