Title
Fiscal Year 2026/27 Citywide Fees and Charges
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FileID
File ID: 2026-00776
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Location
Location: Citywide
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Recommendation
Recommendation: 1) Review the proposed Citywide Fee and Charge Adjustments; and 2) pass a Motion forwarding to City Council to conduct a public hearing, excluding fees tied to the Residential Permit Parking Program and increased parking meter rates proposals.
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Contact
Contact: Brian Martin, Principal Budget Analyst, (916) 808-1929, bmartin1@cityofsacramento.org; Mirthala Santizo, Budget Manager, (916) 808-5078, msantizo@cityofsacramento.org; Pete Coletto, Director of Finance, (916) 808-5416, pcoletto@cityofsacramento.org; Department of Finance
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Presenter
Presenter: Brian Martin, Principal Budget Analyst, (916) 808-1929, bmartin1@cityofsacramento.org, Department of Finance
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Attachments
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Fee Policy
3-Propostion 26
4-Adjustments to Fees and Charges
5-Presentation
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Description/Analysis
IssueDetail
Issue Detail: On February 7, 2006, Council formally adopted a Citywide Fees and Charges Policy (Resolution 2006-106) to ensure that City fees and charges reflect Council’s direction regarding recovery of costs related to providing programs and services. The policy was amended on May 8, 2014, to modify language stating the City will use the State of California Department of Industrial Relations Consumer Price Index (CPI), the same index used by the County Assessor to adjust the annual property tax roll for inflation (Attachment 2). The policy identifies five major categories of fees the City currently implements: impact/development fees, service fees, regulatory fees, rental fees, and penalties/fines. The policy sets the guidelines for cost recovery goals, determines the categories of cost recovery levels, and allows for establishment and modification of fees and charges. Periodically, fees and charges need to be updated to reflect increases in costs or new/changing circumstances.
The City began a Fee Study parallel to the annual Fees and Charges review process in April 2025. The City has contracted with Government Consulting Partners to conduct a comprehensive review over a two-year period examining current City fees and comparing them against jurisdictions of similar size and service models. All departments are participating in the study except for the Fire Department and the Department of Utilities. The Fire Department contracted with MGT of America Consulting to conduct a study in FY2024/25, and the Department of Utilities plans to conduct a fee study in the near future. The culmination of the citywide study will result in fee adjustments, additions, and deletions to enable cost recovery for departments that provide services.
The Fiscal Year (FY) 2026/27 Proposed Budget (Budget) was released on April 29, 2026, and includes the changes recommended in this report. Changes to City fees and charges requiring Council approval are detailed in Attachment 4. The following chart summarizes the number of proposed fee changes by fund and department, and the revenue adjustments included in department revenue budgets.
Although the Residential Permit Parking Program and increased parking meter rates proposals (Fees 470-479) are included in the Budget book, they will be excluded from the Budget. The decision to exclude them was made after the Budget book was finalized. The fees will be removed from the chart and detailed fee list for the Public Hearing and Council approval on May 12, 2026.
The following provides details on the major changes reflected in the chart above:
The Community Development Department (CDD), as part of the comprehensive citywide fee study, is updating fees based on current efforts and revised hourly rates based on current operational costs.
The Department of Community Response (DCR) is adding a monthly program fee for micro-community participants to partially offset the program’s operating costs and help sustain the program. The program fee will be no more than 30% of the program participant’s gross monthly income and will not be charged until after a program participant’s initial 90-day grace period in the program.
The Convention & Cultural Services Department (CCS) is adding new fees for the Temporary Public Art program, transferring fee types for the Entertainment Permit program, and proposing fee adjustments to stay in line with industry standards and to ensure we are still able to maintain and attract clients to our facilities.
The Fire Department is amending fees for two programs to offset the cost of providing
the programs and services.
• The Fire Prevention Program is amended to include an annual fee increase each July 1st, by the percentage change in the CPI Series Title: Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers the U.S. City Average, All Urban Consumers-not seasonally adjusted, for San Francisco-Oakland- San Jose, CA as published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics for the twelve (12) month period ending December 31 of the preceding year.
• The Fire Department Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Program is amended to include an annual fee increase each July 1st, by the percentage change in the CPI Series Title: Medical Care in the U.S. City Page 7 of 14 Average, All Urban Consumers, Not Seasonally Adjusted, as published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics for the twelve (12) month period ending December 31 of the preceding year.
The Public Works Department is recommending modifications to better reflect current market conditions and provide true cost recovery for services provided.
• Parking citation fees for various on-street violations have been updated to deter activities that would result in safety hazards on City streets and to better align citation rates with neighboring jurisdictions as allowed in the Sacramento City Code (Sections 10.36-10.56, 12.44) and the California Vehicle Code (21211-22521). An hourly fee for Parking Enforcement support has also been added to recover staff time and lost revenue from supplying parking enforcement staff to other jurisdictions and events for traffic control. Boot removal fee increased from $100 to $150 to recover costs for this service.
• Rate adjustments for the City-owned parking garages are included to better manage use of parking spaces and to be consistent with market rates in the region. Hourly parking rates at City-owned parking garages have been raised to align with private parking garages and parking garages in neighboring jurisdictions. Electric Vehicle (EV) charging rates have been updated to match Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) Time of Date rates to better recover electricity costs. The idling fee has also been adjusted to encourage more users to benefit from the service. The Amtrak Employee Monthly Rate will increase from $90 to $97 to match the increase to the Old Sacramento monthly parking rate.
• A fee structure for Residential Permit Parking will be removed from the Budget.
• Increased rates for on-street parking meters will be removed from the Budget.
• Marina has added a Dock Alteration Recovery fee. This will cover installation fees after the first courtesy installation and removal of a dock alteration, such as a personal locker or dock wheels. Marina berth rates increased by 5% effective January 1, 2026 due to increased operating expenses. The Director of PW, or designee, is authorized to adjust berth rates from time to time within a range and the increase remains within approved ranges.
• Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) disposal fees have been updated based on actual costs of disposal during the previous fiscal year. Approximately half of HHW disposal fees needed to be updated, with an increase between $0.01 and $0.04 per unit, and with one waste category decreasing by $0.07.
• Recycling and Solid Waste (RSW) is adding a new fee for commercial and residential plan review. This fee will recover the cost of RSW staff to provide review of development projects to ensure they meet City Code chapter 13.10, chapter 13.24, and chapter 17 standards. The fee has been calculated for full cost recovery for RSW staff at an hourly rate that is commensurate with other types of development project reviews.
• Development Engineering has proposed a new fee to recover staff review costs associated with the Streamlined Parcel Map Waiver process. This fee is intended to ensure that projects comply with City Code 17.832.110 requirements prior to tentative map approval. The review will be initiated at the time of initial submittal of the tentative map application to the Community Development Department. No changes or modifications are proposed to existing fees for the Final or Parcel Map applications. The proposed fee is based on a full cost recovery model and reflects Public Works staff time calculated at an hourly rate consistent with other development project review services.
The Department of Utilities performed a review of all Water, Wastewater, and Storm Drainage fees in March 2026 updating labor costs, in accordance with City labor agreements and significant equipment and material cost increases to ensure full cost recovery for services provided. This is a separate process from the larger fee study that will be conducted.
Youth, Parks, & Community Enrichment (YPCE) is making modifications, additions, and deletions to our current fees. Modifications reflect either information related to approved proposals or changes to current fees.
The proposed changes will accommodate new features and programs. YPCE made modifications to current fees for clarification and to better describe fee purpose. Modifications were also made to Camp Sacramento’s fee structure from a per person rate to a per cabin size rate. The proposed fees align with industry standards and will allow the flexibility needed to operate all programs without limitations this upcoming fiscal year.
Except for the CDD fees, the proposed fee and charge changes will take effect on July 1, 2026. The CDD fees will not go into effect until July 12, 2026, as these fees require a 60-day notice after adoption, prior to implementation.
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PolicyConsiderations
Policy Considerations: The changes proposed are consistent with Council’s adopted Citywide Fees and Charges Policy and support the City's budget sustainability and fiscal responsibility goals.
Proposition 26 (Attachment 3) was passed by voters on November 2, 2010, amending Article XIII C of the state constitution. According to the ballot measure, the intent of the measure is to ensure the effectiveness of Propositions 13 and 218 by providing a definition of a “tax” for state and local purposes “so that neither the Legislature nor local governments can circumvent these restrictions on increasing taxes by simply defining new or expanded taxes as “fees.” Thus, under Proposition 26 a tax has been defined broadly to include any levy, charge, or exaction of any kind imposed by a local government, except for seven specified categories of charges. Moreover, the City bears the burden of proving that a fee or charge is not a tax. Toward this end, the report contains summary information, as appropriate, explaining why each proposed fee or fee increase is not a tax under Proposition 26.
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EconomicImpacts
Economic Impacts: Not applicable.
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EnvironmentalConsiderations
Environmental Considerations:
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): Approval of fees and the maintenance of a website does not constitute a “project” and is therefore exempt from CEQA according to Section 15601(b)(3) of the CEQA guidelines.
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Sustainability
Sustainability: Not applicable.
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RationaleforRecommendation
Rationale for Recommendation: The annual review of citywide fees and charges ensures that the City’s recovery of costs for services keeps pace with changes in the cost-of-living index, as well as changes in methods or levels of service delivery. The public hearing on this item is currently scheduled for May 12, 2026.
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FinancialConsiderations
Financial Considerations: The review and adjustment of citywide cost recovery through fees and charges is an appropriate mechanism to ensure the continued recovery of costs for specified programs and services. In this case, it is important to note that the proposed fees and charges in this report are necessary to sustain existing programs and do not provide substantial additional resources. The report recommends adding 86 new fees, 530 modifications to the fee basis or language and 19 deletions, less the fees tied to the Residential Permit Parking Program and increased parking meter rates proposals (Fees 470-479). The recommended adjustments will generate approximately $8.87 million annually in General Fund revenue and $652,000 annually for all other funds. Any additional changes will result in an amendment to budgeted revenues in the proposed budget.
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LocalBusinessEnterprise
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): None.
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