LAKEPORT >> Four different departments will seek approval for fee increases at the Lake County Board of Supervisors (BOS) regular meeting today.
According to Deputy County Administrative Officer Josh Jones, the proposals from the Assessor-Recorder, the Clerk of the BOS, Lake County Library, and Community Development Department are the first set of revised fee ordinances that may eventually change every fee across the board.
“Staff intended to present a master fee ordinance incorporating every single fee and charge countywide, but that proved to be very cumbersome,” Jones said. Instead, the county will release more individual ordinances over the next couple of months.
If the changes are passed, the most substantial increase would be seen in Community Development, as it’s asking for a 25 percent increase for most of its fees. It is also asking to double its CEQA initial study fee from $250 to $500.
These changes are needed as the costs to process applications have increased as projects have become more complex and controversial, county documents claimed. The last time the department raised fees was 2003, and according to Jones, the 25 percent bump is less than the cumulative rate of inflation.
“On average, our Planning Division fees are now the lowest of all the California Counties,” former Community Development Director Rick Coel said in a memo to the BOS on March 7. “These fees currently only cover roughly 20 percent of the Division’s operating expenses.”
Public Works Director Scott DeLeon, who was named Interim Community Development Director following Coel’s resignation following child pornography allegations, said these fees will not impact those who want to rebuild from the Valley Fire. In fact, the BOS will consider a waiver of Construction Traffic Impact Fees for survivors whose homes were damaged or destroyed.
Those fees will take money from the county, but the director is for it.
“If it helps the rebuilding effort on Cobb, then I’m in support of that,” he said.
The second largest charge would come in the form of a new assessment appeal filing fee with costs starting at $35 for small residential properties to $100 for all other property types. According to Assessor-Recorder Richard Ford, the implementation is an effort to encourage filers to prepare for their appeal because staff spends many hours working on the appeal — often with the appellant failing to appear.
“This would include showing up for the appeal, responding to requests for information and being prepared to present their case before the appeals board,” Ford, who claimed that these appeals cost between approximately $700 to $1,120,said. “We have historically had a high number of no-shows … If the party requesting the appeal does not attend the hearing, these hours are lost and could be utilized on other priorities within each of these offices.”
Primarily, these appeals are filed by taxpayers outside the county — about 70 percent in the last three years, he added.
The fee would be collected by the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors.
Other proposed charges include: A $3 charge for use of the library’s Interlibrary Loan Program, a five cent hike in library fines (from 20 cents to 25 cents) and a 100 percent bump for a document recording fee for the Assessor-Recorder’s office.
Staff also proposes that the fees are increased each year by no more than the Bay Area Consumer Price Index for the previous calendar year. However, that won’t be voted on at today’s meeting and may be brought before the BOS at the start of the next fiscal year.
The meeting begins at 9 a.m. at the Lake County Courthouse.
