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ITEM: |
PUBLIC
HEARINGS |
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15. |
CONSIDER FIRST |
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Meeting
Date: |
February 24, 2005 |
Budgeted: |
N/A |
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From: |
David A.
Berger, |
Program/ |
N/A |
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General
Manager |
Line Item No.: |
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Prepared
By: |
Rick
Dickhaut Stephanie
Pintar |
Cost Estimate: |
N/A |
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General Counsel Approval: Yes |
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Committee Recommendation: N/A |
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CEQA Compliance: N/A |
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SUMMARY: Ordinance No. 120, An Ordinance of the Board of Directors of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District Setting and Amending Administrative Fees for Various Services, Including Permit Processing, and Enabling Future Amendment of Fees by Board Resolution, is attached as Exhibit 15-A. Staff approached the development of this new ordinance in two steps. The first was to identify all fees and charges contained in the District’s Rules and Regulations and all fees and charges that are implied through Board policy or staff practice and list them in a table. Second, Water Demand Division staff reviewed the effort involved with each of the fees and charges needing adjustment that were provided to the Board at the January 19, 2005 budget workshop (i.e. grey-shaded areas), and accordingly made recommendations to adjust the fees to reflect the actual work effort. The resulting Fee and Charges Table is included as Attachment I to Ordinance No. 120.
All existing District Fees and Charges are shown on the Fees and Charges Table, even though many are not proposed to be adjusted at this time (i.e. non-shaded fees and charges thereon). The reason all fees are included in the table is that they need to be referenced comprehensively in Ordinance No. 120 so that they can be adjusted by Board resolution in the future. As staff mentioned at the January 19, 2004 Board budget workshop, the advantage of adjusting fees by resolution, rather than by ordinance, is to 1) save the unnecessary additional expense associated with preparation and publication of ordinances, 2) enable the fees to become effective without the two month delay associated with enacting them by ordinance and 3) to improve efficiency and the ability of staff to provide customer service in a timely manner.
The table also establishes Pebble Beach Company water entitlement sale-related permit fees that the District is required to create by Ordinance No. 109 (CAWD/PBCSD Recycled Water Expansion Project) and its implementing agreements. These fees had not yet been developed when we provided the Board the draft Fees and Charges table they reviewed at the January 19, 2005 budget workshop.
Since the District presently lacks a time sheet system for non-hourly staff, the Water Demand Division will use forms and procedures similar to that which the Planning and Engineering Division uses to track staff time expended processing Water Distribution System permits. This will apply to proposed fees that are based on hourly rates in excess of a flat amount, plus outside service costs and other expenses.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Board approve the first reading of Ordinance No. 120, An Ordinance of the Board of Directors of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District Setting and Amending Administrative Fees for Various Services, Including Permit Processing, and Enabling Future Amendment of Fees by Board Resolution.
BACKGROUND: At the District’s strategic planning session on September 29, 2004, staff recommended restructuring permit and other processing fees to fully recover service costs. At that time the Board concurred with the recommendation. At the January 19, 2005 budget workshop, staff presented additional information on various fees within the Water Demand Division and recommended that the fees be updated in conjunction with the 2004-2005 mid-year budget adjustment to be presented to the Board at its February 24, 2005 meeting. The Board concurred with staff’s recommendation and directed staff to refine the proposed fees and bring an ordinance back to the Board for consideration. The Board also indicated agreement with staff’s suggestion that the ordinance include necessary language to allow future fee changes to be made by resolution rather than by ordinance.
15-A Ordinance No. 120
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