Staff has reviewed fees for 2024 and makes recommendations per the attached.  A redline copy of the proposed 2024 fee schedule are included for council's review.

There are no major changes to the fee schedule, most changes proposed are minor adjustments to account for inflation or to align the City's fees with actual costs. All of the fees proposed were considered in the preparation of the 2024 budget.

The following is a list of the changes proposed, smaller changes not noted but can be seen in the redline copy such as formatting, spelling, etc.:

Engineering Private Development Fees

Break down the Trunk Storm Water Charge into land use/density categories (matching the Trunk Storm Water Storage and Treatment Charge). The current fee is $0.148/developable square foot. The requested increases align with adjacent developing communities. The reason for this change is that the varying land uses generate varying amounts of runoff from development (based on impervious areas). This also makes this fee consistent with the Trunk Storm Water Storage and Treatment Charge, which adjusts the fee based on land use.

• Density of  Development (three or less lots/acre); $0.152/developable sq. ft. (2.5% increase aligning with CCI)
• Density of Development (more than three lots/acre); $0.20/developable sq. ft.
• Commercial/Industrial Developments; $0.25/developable sq. ft.
• Storm water Management Plan Review Fee
  
  • Requesting to add a fee for developments larger than 50 acres in the  amount of $3,000 (increase from $1,500 for developments 10 acres or more). The developments larger than 50 acres require significantly more staff time to review storm water management plans as they are generally larger and more complex.
• WCA Application
  • Requesting to increase the application fee from $88 to $250/application + hourly rates (increase from $88/application). Historically we  haven't kept track  of /billed internal  staff time so  the increase would cover our expenses to administer applications.
• The following fees will be increased aligning with the CCI of 2.5%
  • Trunk Sanitary Sewer Charge
  • Trunk Storm Water Storage and Treatment Charge
  • Regional Infiltration Pond Charge
  • Erosion and Sediment Control Application
• Sign Installation fee
  • These fees are requested to be updated based on 2023 actual costs provided by Public Works.
• Grading  Permit fee
  • Requesting to add a separate MS4 Administration Fee to the fee table for projects disturbing more than 1 acre in the amount of 1% of the erosion control costs for the  project. This fee helps cover staff time required to administer the City's MS4 permit relating to private development construction.

General Engineering Fees

• Grading Permit fee
  • Requesting to add a separate MS4 Administration fee to the fee table for projects disturbing more than 1 acre in the amount of 1% of the erosion control costs for the project. This fee  helps cover staff time required to administer the City's MS4 permit relating to private development construction.
  • The following fees will be increased aligning with the CCI of 2.5%
    • Erosion and Sediment Control Application
  • The following fees will be increased aligning with the 3% COLA due to internal labor costs.
    • Right-of-Way Permit Fees
  • City Sanitary Sewer Service Charge (SAC)
    • Requested this be increased by 2.75% consistent with  the 2021 Rate Study Recommendations

Sanitary Sewer/Storm Water

The rates will see small increases primarily due to inflationary increases in  operational costs. Proposed rate changes are consistent with  the rate analysis prepared in 2021. For Sanitary Sewer the average home utilizing 6,000 gallons of water per month, the increase will amount to $0.50 per month. For Storm Water the monthly charge will increase by $.08 per month.

Park and Recreation Fees

SandVenture is Not included on the fee Schedule and will be published when the opening plan is firm.

• All Parks and Recreation Fees published do not include sales tax - previous iterations have included sales tax for some/most fees.  The change is a result of the sales tax increase which became effective on October 1 to be  more flexible if/when sales tax changes i nt he future (no need to adjust our published fees).
• Community  Center Membership fees increase by approximately $10 per  type - Membership fees have not increased since pre-COVID. These will begin February 1, 2024 to allow staff to publish the increase to the membership and to the community.
• Ice costs increase by $5 per hour to keep up with market rate increases and the impact of inflationary expenses on operations.
• Quarry Lake Park is added as a rental - as we have had requests to rent space for events (i.e. weddings).
• Information is clearer - i.e. Associations have access to a meeting room for one (1) board meeting per month (they were removed from the Service Group listings as they no longer pay participant  fees).