COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES AGENCY

DATE:

January 24, 2005

BOARD MEETING DATE:

February 15, 2005

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

Ten-days’ notice

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Marcia Raines, Director of Environmental Services

SUBJECT:

Adoption of County Fire Marshal Fees

RECOMMENDATION

Adopt a resolution amending the County Fire Marshal plan review and inspection fees.

VISION ALIGNMENT

Commitment: Responsive, effective and collaborative government.

Goals 20 and 24: Government decisions are based on careful consideration of future impact, rather than temporary relief or immediate gain. Residents accept individual responsibility for contributing to the quality of life of the County as a whole.

This fee increase contributes to the commitment and goals by maintaining a proper relationship between costs and revenues and by assuring that those who utilize County services pay the cost of providing those services, rather than receiving a subsidy from taxpayers and thereby diverting resources from other needed programs without a source of cost recovery.

BACKGROUND

The County Fire Marshal is responsible for jurisdictional compliance with the County fire codes. The issuance of planning and building permits requires that plan review and inspection services be conducted by the County Fire Marshal to assure and verify code compliance. Fees have been set to recover the cost of these contract services as they relate to planning and building projects. These fees have historically been included in the Planning and Building fee schedules.

DISCUSSION

On June 8, 2004, the Board approved fee increases for Planning and Building and the County Fire Marshal for FY2004/2005, but with a reduction in the proposed general fee increase for Planning and Building. Pursuant to the Board’s direction, the requested change was made and the corrected agenda packet was returned to the Clerk of the Board for final processing. However, in the course of reassembling the packet with the adjusted Planning and Building fee schedule, the existing County Fire Marshal fee schedule was inadvertently included instead of the new version. Therefore, Resolution 66665 amending the fee schedules was adopted with the incorrect County Fire Marshal schedule attached.

The attached revised fee schedule (Attachment A), which was part of the original fee proposal submitted to the Board on June 8, 2004, reflects the previously adopted employee salary cost-of-living allowance (COLA) increased by the 23% employee health benefit COLA, and the fees have been calculated not to exceed the estimated cost of providing plan review and inspection services.

Adopting the resolution to amend the existing County Fire Marshal fee schedule will rectify the error that was made in the previously approved fee proposal submittal made by the Planning and Building Division at the meeting of the Board on June 8, 2004. The new fees will be effective April 18, 2005, following the required 60-day delay stipulated for any action adopting or increasing a fee.

County Counsel has reviewed and approved the resolution and finds it in order.

FISCAL IMPACT

There is no fiscal impact to the County. The fee increase effective April 18, 2005 is anticipated to generate an additional $6,300 in revenue for the remainder of the fiscal year. A new fee increase of 7% will be proposed for FY2005-06 which is based on the annual increase in CDF’s personnel and health benefit COLA costs.