To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Donna Lee, Finance Director
Prepared By: Frank Herrera, Accounting Supervisor
TITLE:
Title
Update of Citywide User Fees
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Adopt a resolution updating city fees and charges related to City services, products, or regulations and updating fines for violations of City codes and regulations.
Body
DISCUSSION:
City staff regularly review the costs of providing services to the community and recommends that fees and charges be established in amounts that are based on an equitable allocation of those costs to those who benefit from those services. The last update to the City’s fees and charges was brought to Council October 2021, with an administrative update December 2024. City staff has now identified the need to update those fees, as recommended in this report, to reflect the City’s current costs of providing services.
The recommended action is the adoption of the resolution that establishes the updated fee amounts for both existing and new fees. The proposed updates to the fee amounts are primarily due to changes in employee salaries, benefits, and other operating costs. Additionally, the fees were reviewed by City staff and updated to reflect current processes.
The fee update includes a five-year schedule for fee increases, for Calendar Years 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, and 2030.
In addition to changes to existing fees, this fee update also removes fees that are no longer relevant to the City and adds new fees.
The attached user fee study conducted by Willdan provides the analytical basis for the Master Fee Schedule by identifying the full cost of providing City services and evaluating whether existing and proposed fees reasonably recover those costs. The study analyzes direct and indirect expenses, including staff time, operating costs, and overhead, to ensure fees are aligned with the cost of service and comply with applicable state law. The findings of the user fee study inform recommended fee updates reflected in the Master Fee Schedule, promoting transparency, equity, and fiscal sustainability by ensuring that services benefiting individual users are appropriately funded without undue reliance on the General Fund.
Development impact fees were not reviewed as part of this fee study.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
Enactment of the proposed fee changes will improve cost recovery for City services.
CEQA:
The Finance Director has determined that the recommended actions described in this agenda report are not subject to CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c).
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATCH 1 - Resolution updating City fees and charges
EX A - Proposed Updated City Fee Schedule
EX B - User Fee Study by Willdan Financial Consultants
NOTIFICATION:
Legal Ad published in the Napa Valley Register on Thursday, January 22 and January 29, 2026.