Westminster City Council
SUBJECT
Title
Revision to Schedule of Fees and Charges for Special Services Regarding Engineering Plan Check and Inspections.
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From: Christine Cordon, City Manager
Requested by: Administration
Prepared by: Ryan Salz, Senior Management Analyst
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
Recommendation
Adopt a Resolution entitled, “A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WESTMINSTER, CALIFORNIA, REVISING THE SCHEDULE OF FEES AND CHARGES FOR SPECIAL SERVICES TO AUTHORIZE FEES TO FACILITIATE OUTSIDE THIRD-PARTY SERVICES FOR ENGINEERING PLAN CHECK AND INSPECTIONS.”
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BACKGROUND
On June 25, 2025, the Mayor and City Council adopted Resolution No. 5307 (Attachment 1) which adopted a revised Schedule of Fees and Charges for Special Services and a Schedule of Miscellaneous Fines. The action taken was based on a cost of services study performed by Revenue & Cost Specialists, LLC (RCS). The study analyzed the City’s operations to determine the City’s full cost of services that are provided on a cost-recovery basis. RCS met with each department to review and adjust the time spent by City position to perform each service detailed in the study.
If an applicant’s proposal requires that work be accomplished by an outside party, the City’s adopted fee schedule already authorizes the City to collect a deposit from the applicant in an amount set by staff including outside contract costs plus 25% for staff review for the review of:
• Tentative Parcel Maps
• Tentative Tract Maps
• Development Agreements
• Conditional Use Permits
• Variances General Plan Amendments
• Zone Changes
• Zoning Text Amendments
• Environmental Review
Staff has determined that it would also be appropriate for this option to be available for engineering plan check/inspection.
Staff has confirmed that the proposed 25% rate is also appropriate for engineering plan check/inspection. The City's contracted engineering consultants charge, on average, approximately $240/hour for engineering services. This represents a blended rate of a consultant's staff with the City’s Associate and Senior positions; the positions that perform most of the tasks for development projects. City staff, through project management tasks, review consultant's submitted work and communicate with other departments, performing roughly 1 hour of work for every 6 hours of work that the consultant performs. The City's rate is $279/hour, which is a blended rate of the City’s Senior Engineer and City Engineer. Additionally, for every hour that the City’s engineering staff spends on a project, an additional 0.25 hours of public works support staff time, at a blended rate of $141/hour, and 0.25 hours of the City’s Public Works Director’s time, at a rate of $321/hour. Given this breakdown, the City spends $394.50 in staff time for every $1,440 that the consultant bills for, or 27.4% of the consultant's billable charges. Therefore, an administrative fee of 25% is reasonable and in keeping with actual expenditures by City staff. This is particularly true because the rates established in the Fee Study do not account for recently approved pay increases for City staff, and actual city expenses are likely slightly higher.
This revision to the fee schedule would be a prudent anticipatory action to provide the City with a mechanism to ensure that the amount of the engineering and inspection fees, as applied to non-typical circumstances, will continue to be roughly proportional to the costs incurred by the City.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no direct fiscal impact associated with this action. If a deposit-based fee is assessed instead of the standard fee formula, the fiscal impact would be dependent on the project and work involved.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed as to form.
CONCLUSION
The proposed Resolution (Attachment 2) will authorize the City Manager, or a City staff member designated by the City Manager, to determine when the Engineering Plan Check/Inspection Fee should collect a deposit to recover the costs of services. This action would adjust the current fee schedule to ensure City services are being charged appropriately on a cost-recovery basis.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Resolution No. 5307
2. Proposed Resolution
REVIEWED BY
Erin Backs, Finance Director
City Attorney’s Office
Christine Cordon, City Manager