City Council Agenda
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Memo to: |
Manteca City Council |
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From: |
Jose Jasso, Assistant City Manager / Interim Director of Public Works |
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Prepared by: |
Kevin Fant, Deputy Director of Public Works O&M |
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Date: |
October 21, 2025 |
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Subject: |
User Fee Update for Public Works Department - Parks Planning and Development Division |
Recommendation:
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Conduct a public hearing and adopt a resolution accepting the User Fee Update Report by Willdan Financial Services establishing revised fees for the Public Works Department - Parks Planning and Development Division.
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Background:
User fees are paid by individuals or entities in exchange for private benefits and are reasonably related to the costs to provide the service requested by the user. Revenue generated by user fees must cover no more than the reasonable cost of service, which generally includes all the personnel (including overhead) and operational resources, needed to provide the service. In other words, the City does not “earn a profit” by providing fee-based services.
Updating user fees protects the general fund and unobligated funding sources from being used in delivering a service for private benefit; preserves funding for and access to community benefits; maintains or improves service quality; manages pressures on City resources; and meets State requirements for reasonable cost-based fees. The last update to the Park Planning and Development Division fees was done in August 2016 when baseline fees were established. The intent was to track staff time for processes and update fees the following year along with other City fees. Due to unforeseen circumstances this update did not occur.
Therefore, in 2025 the City engaged with Willdan Financial Services (Willdan), a third-party industry expert, to conduct a user fee study update for the Park Planning and Development Division. The user fee study reviewed and calculated appropriate user fees; ensures compliance with State law; develops an updatable and comprehensive list of fees; and maintains accordance with City policies and goals. The study and the resulting report are a comprehensive review of the user fees to ensure that fees are being accurately collected for each work task performed. Examples of tasks performed related to new parks/landscape items are plan check Services, construction inspections, submittal reviews, CFD formations/annexations and similar services. The user fee report explains the applied methodology and lists the updated and recommended user fees at 100% cost recovery.
Willdan utilized a comprehensive and multi-phase approach to assess and apply the appropriate user fees. In the assessment phase, Willdan held numerous meetings and conducted interviews with City staff to review fee schedules and services including identifying potential new fees; eliminating or reducing fees; and calculating full cost recovery rates. Without full cost recovery rates, the burden falls on the general fund.
In the application phase, Willdan built a model using current anticipated costs for labor, benefits, overhead, materials, and required recovery rates, while following required policies and State laws. To further support the City’s goal of an involved process, City staff has also met with the Building Industry Association (BIA) and had multiple follow-up communications. The result is a report containing the accurate costs of service and corresponding user fees and proposed fee schedule.
Implementation of this user fee study is necessary in order to provide ongoing funding for these services, improve service levels and eliminate current general fund subsidies towards the program. In accordance with the user fee study, staff also recommends an annual inflationary increase to these fees occur each January based on the US Bureau of Labor Statistics & CA Department of Finance CPI-West Urban Consumers, all items, San Francisco CMSA, 12-month percentage change.
The proposed revised fees would become effective sixty days (60) after adoption of the resolution.
Fiscal Impact:
Updating the fees reduces the degree to which the Public Works Department - Parks Planning and Development Division of Public Works - relies on other resources to cover service costs. These subsidies have historically been covered by the general fund, which negatively impacts the City’s ability to provide other services. The proposed fee study update is based on full cost recovery, which means the fees collected will offset the cost of providing the service and eliminate general fund subsidies.
Documents Attached:
1. Attachment 1 - User Fee Update Report
2. Attachment 2 - Resolution
3. Attachment 3 - Exhibit “A” to Resolution - Public Works Department - Parks Planning and Development Fee Schedule
4. Attachment 4 - PowerPoint Presentation