REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
March 25, 2025
FROM
LUTHER SNOKE, Chief Executive Officer, County Administrative Office
SUBJECT
Title
Introduction of the Fiscal Year 2025-26 Proposed Annual County Fee Ordinance
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Conduct a public hearing on the Fiscal Year 2025-26 Proposed Annual County Fee ordinance containing necessary revisions to the fees.
1. Make alterations, if necessary, to proposed ordinance.
2. Approve introduction of proposed ordinance.
• An ordinance of San Bernardino County, State of California, to amend Chapters 1 and 2 of Division 6 of Title 1 of the San Bernardino County Code, relating to fees charged by the County.
3. SCHEDULE ORDINANCE FOR FINAL ADOPTION ON TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 2025, on the Consent Calendar.
(Presenter: Matthew Erickson, County Chief Financial Officer, 387-5423)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Improve County Government Operations.
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
County fee revenue is projected to be $251.1 million for 2025-26. This includes changes to fees driven by several factors, including Board of Supervisors (Board) approved Memoranda of Understanding; insurance; and the annual number of productive hours, as calculated by the Auditor-Controller/Treasurer/Tax Collector (ATC) and others, to ensure full cost recovery. Fee revenue will enable the County to recover costs incurred to provide products and services to members of the public, businesses, and other government agencies.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Annual County Fee Ordinance is brought to the Board each year to recommend fee adjustments for the following fiscal year. For 2025-26, departments were asked to review all fees that were last reviewed in the 2021-22 fee cycle or earlier. Additionally, departments were encouraged to review fees that have high volume and/or are the most impactful to ensure annual costs are being recovered.
County Policy 05-01 (Budget Policy) states that the full cost of service should be calculated for all County services to provide a basis for setting fees or charges. Although the full cost fee amount is calculated, a lower fee amount is sometimes recommended by the department. This will occur when a service is mandated and the fee amount is limited by law, or when market analysis shows that the full cost fee is not competitive with other service providers (e.g., fees charged by the County Museum). In these instances, the department identifies other funding sources for the portion of the services the fee does not recover. Departments are also directed to comply with Proposition 26, which generally requires that fees not be higher than the cost of the activity and/or service provided, unless an exception applies as indicated in the proposition.
On March 11, 2025 (Item No. 53), a Fee Workshop with the Board was conducted to discuss the 2025-26 proposed fees. The Board provided feedback and direction on the proposed changes to the fees. As a result, County Code Section 16.0218 for Museum and County Code Section 16.0223 for Regional Parks are updated to include admission and entrance fees at no charge for a County Resident who is a veteran, active-duty personnel in the United States Armed Services, National Guard member, or reservist, on Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veterans Day.
The effective date for these fees will be July 1, 2025, with the exception of Regional Parks’ fees. Regional Parks’ fees are scheduled to become effective on May 10, 2025, in time for the Memorial Day Weekend, one of the highest revenue-generating periods for Regional Parks.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Julie Surber, Principal Assistant County Counsel, 387-4119) on March 5, 2025; Finance (Jessica Trillo, Administrative Analyst, 387-4222) on March 6, 2025; and County Finance and Administration (Paloma Hernandez-Barker, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on March 12, 2025.