Recreation basketball teams would pay an extra $45 to play this
winter. Resident appeals to the Hollister City Council to overturn
planning decisions would cost $300. People who call false alarms to
police would get a $33 bill
– after the fourth offense in a year.
Recreation basketball teams would pay an extra $45 to play this winter. Resident appeals to the Hollister City Council to overturn planning decisions would cost $300. People who call false alarms to police would get a $33 bill – after the fourth offense in a year.
Charges to residents for services that range from recreation programs to new building inspections would jump if the Council approves a recommended overhaul of its user fees Monday. Some fees under the proposal have never been charged.
The council in October ordered a fee study – to justify the hikes – because many of the charges haven’t been revised since the early 1980s. And if revenues don’t meet the city’s costs to provide those services, the already plunging general fund has to make up the difference.
“The intent is to make sure our fees cover costs,” interim City Manager Clint Quilter said.
The first part of the fee report doesn’t include water and sewer rates, which officials expect to increase by 100 percent or more. Those revisions will be in the final part of the study, which city management expects to release in the coming weeks.
The second half of the report also will include impact fees charged to developers to pay for additional burdens on roads and public services. Those fees don’t produce much revenue for the city these days, though, because no one can build during the construction moratorium lasting until late 2005. So Quilter said Hollister’s in ho hurry to approve those changes.
Developers do already know they’ll be paying more to compensate the city for its staff time and resources used for permit issuance and other planning activities. According to the user fee report some planning fees would double, such as those related to architectural reviews.
Even some of the city’s administrative costs for developments, including the cost of copies, would carry charges for the first time. Charges for fire inspections of buildings would increase significantly. And developers’ bills for city workers’ installation of water meters would jump as much as 368 percent.
“I think it’s appropriate we raise impact fees on developers due to the fact they’re creating the larger infrastructure problems in our community,” Councilman Tony LoBue said.
But developers wouldn’t be alone in absorbing the extra costs. Charges for City Clerk’s Office records would rise, some more than 100 percent. The Police Department would charge to cover its resources in some cases, such as investigations of drunk driving offenses. And most of the remaining recreation programs’ fees would increase by 10 percent.
Still, Management Services Director Clay Lee doesn’t think the increased costs would deter recreation faithfuls from taking part.
“I think the folks will understand,” Lee said. “Our programs have been, for the most part, very affordable over the years.”
Due to budget constraints, Lee already has seen about 60 percent of his programs cut in the past couple of months.
For Lee, who has helped build the Recreation Division over the past two decades, that’s been a tough pill to swallow.
“It’s all very difficult for me to fathom,” he said. “But at least we were able to salvage some.”
To view a copy of the fee study, go to City Hall, 375 Fifth Street.
Kollin Kosmicki can be reached at 637-5566, ext. 331 or at
kk*******@fr***********.com.
