Title
A Resolution Of The City Commission Of The City Of Hollywood, Florida, Adopting A Comprehensive Schedule Of Fees And Repealing Multiple Resolutions Which Previously Authorized Fees.
Strategic Plan Focus
Financial Management & Administration
Body
Staff Recommends: Approval of the Attached Resolution.
Explanation:
The City, under various statutory provisions and the City Code of Ordinances, may set and collect fees for the cost of providing various public services to the residents, businesses, and visitors.
Over several decades, the City has established fees through numerous resolutions. Staff recommends repealing previously adopted fee resolutions and consolidating all fees, charges, penalties, and fines (collectively identified as “fees”) into one Comprehensive Schedule of Fees. The consolidation of fees into a single document will increase transparency and use for the general public, provide a more organized method of review and revision during the budget process, and facilitate a more easily accessible history of the status of City fees.
During the process of establishing the Comprehensive Schedule of Fees, City Departments and Offices had an opportunity to review existing fees and analyze the cost of administering various programs and services. As a result of their review, several Departments and Offices would like to enact new fees and amend some of the existing fees.
A summary of the proposed changes are described below (with corresponding page numbers to the Comprehensive Schedule of Fees).
1. New Fees
Office of the City Clerk: The Office of the City Clerk currently charges a fee to provide copies of 8 ½ inches x 14 inches paper documents. The Office would like to offer the option to provide larger sized paper copies for a fee which based on the actual cost per paper copy (Page 4).
Department of Financial Services: The Department of Financial Services proposes several new fees. The City currently provides lien and certification searches to residents for a fee. The Department would like to offer the same services to non-residents at a higher rate (Page 13). The Department also proposes new penalties for noncompliance of the City’s vacation rental ordinance. The new penalties are included in the vacation rental ordinance which will be presented to Commission for second reading on January 20th. All of the proposed fees described above have been compared to neighboring cities (Page 14).
2. Increased Fees
Department of Development Services - Planning & Urban Design: The increase to various Planning & Urban Design Division fees are based on the Consumer Price Index - All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach region (Page 5-7). These fees increase annually based on the CPI-U.
Department of Fire-Rescue & Beach Safety: The Department of Fire-Rescue & Beach Safety proposes to update the current over-time rates of providing fire inspection and fire watch services during special events (Pages 15-16). The revised rates are based on the average hourly salaries of the Firefighter(s) and Fire Prevention Officer(s) needed per special event. The Department also proposes to increase the Expedited Fire Plan Review fees based on the cost of providing this service (Page 17).
Department of Financial Services: The Department of Financial Services proposes an increase to new applications for owner occupied vacation rentals and initial re-inspection fees based on the cost to administer the program (Page 14).
Department of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Arts: The Department of Parks, Recreation, & Cultural Arts would like to include staffing costs for specific ArtsPark rentals based on the additional workload incurred for specific tasks (Page 20).
Department of Public Works - Environmental Services Division: The cost of collecting and disposing additional garbage carts has remained the same for over 5 years, however, the cost of providing this service continues to grow. After analyzing current contract and administration costs, the Environmental Services Division is proposing an increase to the monthly service fee (Pages 39-40).
3. Elimination of Fees
Department of Public Works - Environmental Services Division: The Environmental Services Division proposes the elimination of several fees for services that have not been rendered for several years. These services include collections for hotels, motels, commercial establishments, back door collections, and professional associations (Pages 39-40); and admittance to the Recycling and Collection Facility (Page 42).
4. Administrative Clean-Up of Fees
Department of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Arts: The Department would like to create consistency with its current rate structure by converting all flat rates to an hourly rate. This change will also simplify revenues recorded into the cashiering system (Pages 23-24).
Department of Public Works - Environmental Services Division: The Department of Public Works would like to standardize Environmental Services fees for excess and special bulk/yard waste collections, code violations, and permit fees (Pages 40-42).
Fiscal Impact:
The proposed fee changes will go into effect immediately following the approval of this Resolution. Cost estimates for all proposed fee increases are based on analysis prepared by the respective Departments and Offices. Budget and Finance staff have determined that the proposed fee changes are reasonable for the provision of the services provided. The Budget Office will monitor revenue collections for all new and revised fees throughout Fiscal Year 2021. The actual collections will be used as a baseline to determine the revenue budget for the subsequent fiscal year.
Please note that the Comprehensive Schedule of Fees does not include taxes.
Recommended for inclusion on the agenda by:
Laurette Jean, Director of Budget & Performance Management
David E. Keller, Fiscal Services Specialist Project Manager
Adam Reichbach, Assistant City Manager for Finance and Administration