Duarte Council to Study City Service

Charges at January 4 Council Workshop

December 22, 2010 – The City of Duarte is in the process of completing a comprehensive review and update of City service charges and fees to be presented to the City Council at a public workshop for discussion on January 4 at 5:00 pm.  The item will then be considered for adoption at a future meeting on January 25th.

Duarte’s last comprehensive service charge update was completed in 2005. The calculation of services charges is based on the actual staff hours, supplies and overhead related to the actual service provided to the community.  State law requires that service charges not exceed the actual cost of providing services. The list of service charges and fees under review include such things as rental charges for use of the Community Center, garage sale permits, dog and cat licenses, document copy charges, construction and demolition fees, and conditional use permits.

Cities may establish charges for services through the adoption of either ordinances or resolutions.  For ease of understanding and to enhance transparency, Duarte gathers service charges into a master schedule and adopts them as part of a single resolution process. This approach allows charges to be updated in a less cumbersome fashion while providing the general public opportunities through the public hearing process to address the council in person as well as to submit comments in writing.

Reductions in traditional tax revenues have made cities more dependent on service charges for budget balancing.  The general public typically prefers that people pay for the services they receive, rather than fund these items through higher taxes. When charges reflect actual cost, market forces are brought into play, making governments operate more like businesses. For additional information on City service charges, contact the City of Duarte Administrative Services Department at (626) 357-7931, ext. 211.

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