“A lot has happened since then,” Bludau said. “Unless you really stay on top of [fees] and look at it each year, it can easily get way behind after 10 years.”
The city’s costs to keep things running have jumped from $86 million in 2001 to $132 million in 2007, according to information from the Newport Beach City Council finance committee.
To catch up with its costs, the city could look at raising fees on things like building permits and adult recreation programs, Bludau said.
Among other findings, the study recommended raising fees for impounding dogs and cats from $35 to $107. The study also recommended raising prices for numerous planning department fees. Recommended increases include increasing the price of a planning department appeals board hearing from $887 to $3,070.
Talk of raising the price for some city services is never popular, and the city also will have to look at its costs before making a decision to raise fees, said Councilwoman Leslie Daigle, a member of Newport’s finance committee.
“Because the city has not been reviewing our fees on a regular basis, when a fee increase occurs, it becomes an emotionally charged issue,” Daigle said.
The study also recommends Newport recover more of what it spends on police services, something Bludau doesn’t think would be a good idea.
“The police are never going to be something that comes close to paying for itself. We don’t have police to make money,” he said.
Newport only recovers about 22% of its costs for police services, which is well below what most other communities in California recover, according to the study.
Redlands recovers 79% of what it spends on police in fees for things like concealed weapons permits and impounding animals.
