Title
HEARING - Environmental Management Department recommending the Board adopt and authorize the Chair to sign Resolution 122-2026 “Environmental Management Fee Schedule and Policies and Procedures,” thereby rescinding prior Resolution 187-2019.
FUNDING: Fees for Service.
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
On October 22, 2019 (Legistar 19-0663), the Board adopted Resolution 187-2019 “Environmental Management Fee Schedule and Policies and Procedures.” The fee schedule was developed using budget data to calculate the hourly rate and department time studies to analyze the average time to perform the services.
Using Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget data, Environmental Management (Department) staff, in collaboration with Chief Administrative Office - Community Development Finance and Administration (CDFA), prepared an updated billing rate along with an updated fee schedule.
The billing rate analysis quantifies the full cost of providing government services by accounting for direct and indirect costs:
Direct costs are directly tied to specific services and include:
• Personnel costs: Salaries, wages, and benefits of staff performing the service
• Non-personnel costs: Expenses such as contractors or materials used for the service
Indirect costs support service delivery but are not directly linked to a single activity and include:
• Personnel costs: Supervision, administration, and technical support
• Non-personnel costs: Shared departmental expenses not assigned to individual services
• Overhead costs: County-wide administrative support (e.g., Human Resources, general Legal Counsel, Auditor Controller, Information Technologies), allocated based on the County’s annual Cost Allocation Plan
Environmental Management also added new State-required inspections, added fees that are pass-through to the State, and deleted fees where no longer needed. In accordance with previously established policies and procedures, a public hearing is being held simultaneously with the Board’s consideration of the revised fee schedules and resolutions. A summary of the Department's proposed fee changes can be found in Attachment A.
ALTERNATIVES
The Board could choose not to approve this item, resulting in a decrease of targeted cost recovery rates for the affected fees. This could result in a decrease in fund balances throughout the department to cover the gap between current fee rates and actual cost of delivering the service.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION
N/A
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
County Counsel, Chief Administrative Office - Community Development Finance and Administration
CAO RECOMMENDATION / COMMENTS
Approve as recommended.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Because Environmental Management does not utilize the General Fund for operations, there is no change to Net County Cost as a result of this item. The hourly rate-and therefore the individual fees calculated using time study data-will increase by approximately 28.9 percent, increasing department revenues. These fees have not been updated since 2019, which equates to an average increase of roughly 4 percent per year.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
1) The Clerk of the Board will obtain the Chair’s signature on the original Resolution.
2) The Clerk of the Board will forward one (1) copy of the signed Resolutions to the Environmental Management Department, for implementation.
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
N/A
CONTACT
Jeff Warren, Director
Environmental Management Department
Becky Morton, Chief Fiscal Officer
Chief Administrative Office, Community Development, Finance & Administration