REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF BOARD GOVERNED COUNTY SERVICE AREAS
AND RECORD OF ACTION
March 29, 2022
FROM
BRENDON BIGGS, Director, Department of Public Works - Special Districts
SUBJECT
Title
Introduction of Proposed Ordinance relating to the Fiscal Year 2022-23 Recommended Fees and Charges for Various Board Governed County Service Areas and Zones
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Acting as the governing body of the County Service Areas and their Zones:
1. Conduct a public hearing on proposed ordinance repealing Ordinance No. SD 21-01 and establishing various service fees for Fiscal Year 2022-23.
2. Make alterations, if necessary, to the proposed ordinance.
3. Approve introduction of proposed ordinance.
• An ordinance of San Bernardino County, State of California, acting as the governing body of all board-governed County Service Areas and their Zones to repeal Ordinance No. SD 21-01 and to adopt fees and charges for Fiscal Year 2022-23.
4. SCHEDULE ORDINANCE FOR FINAL ADOPTION ON TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2022 on the Consent Calendar.
(Presenter: Brendon Biggs, Director, 387-7906)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). Fees and charges from the proposed ordinance are projected to generate total revenue of approximately $5 million in 2022-23 for various County Service Areas (CSAs) and their Zones. This revenue will continue to be used to offset the costs of providing services. Appropriation and revenue related to these fees and charges will be included in the 2022-23 recommended budgets for the applicable CSAs and Zones (Districts).
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Department of Public Works - Special Districts (Department) annually introduces a proposed fee ordinance to the Board of Supervisors (Board) for all Districts. The ordinance includes recommended fee revisions, deletion of certain fees, and/or addition of new fees for a variety of services including refuse, road maintenance, parks and recreation, detention basin maintenance, landscaping, and streetlighting.
For 2022-23, the Department is recommending several fee revisions. The following is a summary of these changes:
• Water and Sanitation Construction Plan Check - The fees associated with these checks, which were last revised in 2012-13, are recommended for an increase of approximately 11% to recover the actual cost of service.
• Water and Sanitation Field Inspections - This fee has been revised to an initial deposit of up to $5,000. If the actual cost of this work is less than the deposit, the remaining amount will be refunded to the payee.
• Productive Hourly Rates - The Productive Hourly Rates (PHRs) are recommended for revision to include updated salary and benefit costs to recover the full cost of service. Although the Department uses the average cost per classification when calculating the PHRs, the amount of salaries and benefits can fluctuate annually depending on the budgeted employees within each classification. As a result, the PHRs include variances in percentage changes among the various classifications (ranging from a reduction of 25% to an increase of 39.8%, with the majority of the PHRs changing from 0.2% to 10%). In addition to these changes, a new fee establishing a PHR for the classification of Public Service Employee is recommended.
• CSA 20 (Joshua Tree) - This Park District is increasing the tennis court lighting fee (from $10/two hours to $20/two hours) for consistency with other districts that have a similar fee.
• CSA 29 (Lucerne Valley) - This District, which includes a cemetery, is increasing the fee for Cement Bell Liner from $150 to $190 because the vendor who supplies this product has recently increased its prices.
• CSA 70, Zone HL (Havasu Lake) - The Fee Ordinance is revised to include updated refuse collection fees for this District per Board action on November 16, 2021 (Item No. 76).
• CSA 120 (North Etiwanda Preserve) - This District provides for the management, protection, and operation of over 1,200 acres of open space. The area includes a hiking trail that is accessible to the public year-round. In 2021-22, the Board approved daily parking fees to help fund the costs of operating and maintaining the trail. Based on many inquiries received by the Department about an annual fee, the Department is recommending that the Fee Ordinance be revised to include an annual parking pass with a fee of $70. This amount is comparable to the annual parking fee established for the nearby Claremont Loop Trail in Los Angeles County.
• Service Charges - Many of the Districts contain service charges that generate revenue for various costs including, but not limited to, road maintenance, snow removal, streetlights, park operations/improvements, and maintenance of detention basins. For some of these Districts, the per parcel service charge includes the option for an annual inflationary adjustment as previously approved by the property owners and the Board upon formation of the District. The Department recommends that this option be implemented for the following Districts. The additional revenue from these small inflationary adjustments will help fund the increased costs of providing service.
o Road Districts:
Ø CSA 70, Zone R-8 Riverside Terrace (2.5%)
Ø CSA 70, Zone R-12 Baldwin Lake (2.5%)
Ø CSA 70, Zone R-41 Quail Summit (1.5%)
Ø CSA 70, Zone R-45 Erwin Lake (2.5%)
Ø CSA 70, Zone R-47 Lake Arrowhead-Rocky Point (2.5%)
Ø CSA 70, Zone R-48 Erwin Lake West (2.5%)
Ø CSA 70, Zone R-49 Fawnskin (up to 3%, current increase of 1.2%)
o Streetlight Districts:
Ø CSA 70, Zone SL-2 Chino (1.5%)
Ø CSA 70, Zone SL-3 Mentone (1.5%)
Ø CSA 70, Zone SL-7 Mentone (4%)
Ø CSA 70, Zone SL-8 San Bernardino (4%)
Ø CSA 70, Zone SL-9 Mentone (4%)
Ø CSA 70, Zone SL-10 San Bernardino (4%)
The Department ensures that the recommended fee amounts comply with Proposition 26. Proposition 26 generally requires fees not to be higher than the cost of the activity and/or service provided, unless an exception applies as provided in the proposition. Some recommended fee amounts do not recover the full cost of services including those where property tax revenue received partially funds the services, or the fee increases are limited to a voter-approved fixed annual percentage.
On March 1, 2022 (Item No. 73), a fee workshop with the Board was conducted to discuss the 2022-23 proposed fees. This workshop resulted in no changes to the recommended fee proposal for the CSAs and their Zones.
The proposed ordinance will take effect 30 days from adoption; however, repeal of Ordinance SD 21-01 and establishment of the 2022-23 fees for the Districts will be effective July 1, 2022.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Aaron Gest, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on March 10, 2022; Finance (Tom Forster, Administrative Analyst, 387-4635) on March 11, 2022; and County Finance and Administration (Paloma Hernandez-Barker, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on March 14, 2022.