The Environmental Health & Sustainability Department requests approval of a revised department fee schedule. Only one update is currently needed, which entails a permit fee increase for grease and grit trap permits.
In 2018, the Budget Department employed a consultant to determine actual cost to provide EHS services with the objective of setting fees based on cost recovery. At that time, we set a cost recovery policy of 50%, with the goal of moving toward a 75% cost recovery, with consideration for 100% recovery for some services.
As part of the FY 24-25 budget, the department proposed this fee increase due to finding the cost recovery for this service to be low. Staff recommends an increase from the current fee of $50 per year to $60 per year. We believe this small increase is appropriate for the upcoming budget year and will generate a base revenue increase of approximately $17,130 (1713 permits at $10 increase).
As part of the fiscal road map initiative, the cost recovery policy is under review which will likely result in further adjustments. However, this is the most pressing need for the department budget and necessary in order to meet revenue projections.