Based on discussion at the August 2 City Council budget retreat, staff is working between then and this meeting to provide options for appropriate revenue from fees.

*Note: Water & Sewer Impact Fee table page has been updated to fix an error showing different LUE amounts from the previous meeting on July 16, 2024. There is no change to the LUE levels of these impact fees.* 

City Departments collect a wide variety of fees for permits, services, fines and other charges that are all part of everyday operations of municipal government.  Since September 2008, the fees have been incorporated into a single fee schedule.  Ordinance 08-M-43 established the consolidated fee schedule and allows for the modification of existing fees to be done by resolution while new fees are established or added to the Fee Schedule by ordinance.

The Fee Schedule ordinance provides a single document with all City fees that directly affect the users. The changes to the fees ensure the continued operation of public utilities, provides for essential services to the community and to adequately maintain the investment in existing infrastructure.  All changes to the fee schedule will have a 45-day period before the new fees take effect. This allows staff to update and advise citizens on the upcoming changes. The recommended effective date of these fee changes will be October 1, 2024.

Library 
Library proposes to remove late fees as studies, and the experience of fine-free libraries, suggest that small fines aren’t effective at encouraging wanted behavior, and may in fact discourage the return of library materials. Being fine-free encourages former library patrons who stopped using the library due to fines to come back, and it attracts new patrons who are fearful of accruing fines. Seguin, New Braunfels, San Antonio, Bulverde, Canyon Lake, and San Marcos are all fine-free, and all are part of a national trend of fine-free libraries. The goal of the library is to provide information and other resources, not collect fines, and staff feels it can better serve the community by removing these overdue fines. This would decrease revenue by 50% or $5,600 but overall this drop is small enough for the General Fund to absorb without any reduction in service.

Game and Experience Kit totes and parts will be charged to the patrons if those items are lost or damaged. If the item is paid for, any overdue fines are waived and are not additive.

Parks
Parks no longer has Large Pavilions without facilities and will be removing those rates from the schedule. Staff also proposes to increase rental rates for the Large Pavilions by $25 for weekdays and $50 for weekend rentals to match similar offerings by other cities in the area. Current level of demand for these rental types is high and rates were last adjusted in 2021. This increase could result in an additional $6,750 in revenue.

Neighborhood Services
Food establishment fee structure is proposed to be changed from the 5 categories the City has currently to 2. Both sets were based on number of employees but now there would be 1 rate for establishments with 10 and less employees and 1 rate for 11 and more. This model is comparable to what other cities are doing but are still less than what larger cities are charging. 

Mobile vendor permits are also proposed to increase from $100 to $250. The state charges $150 and other cities charge $350 so staff was aiming for the middle ground with this update. This fee was last updated in 2022 and the City will still accept permits acquired in other cities for only a $25 registration fee in lieu of getting the $250 permit through Schertz.

Staff also proposes to remove Sanitation Inspection Fees for services provided outside the City Limits. Staff has not been called to perform these services and have not used these fees. 

Emergency Medical Service (EMS)
EMS proposes to increase the response services fees. These fees are the actual charges for services provided during transport and have not been updated since 2013 or earlier. Fees for Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support increase between 9 and 14% with this jump due to not updating these fees in over a decade.

EMT Class fees are also proposed to increase $100 to meet cost increases for providing the class.

Per Capita, what the City charges to provide EMS support to other cities, is proposed to increase 2.65% to match the medical CPI. This increase is stated in the contracts with each other local government to which Schertz provides EMS services.

Engineering
Engineering proposes to add a Wasterwater Liftstation Plan Review and Inspection fees to the schedule. This item was missed in the last update and should be included on the fee schedule to provide clear communication to developers. Liftstations are vital to the City's infrastructure and needs to be properly reviewed and inspected to ensure the integrity of the City's system once its brought online. Repairs and replacements later can be very costly to the City and residents. 

Planning & Zoning/Drainage
Proposes adding a Floodplain Development Review Fee. Most floodplain review occurs throughout entitlement process, so staff proposes adding the fee in the Planning section.  This change will also specify the Floodplain permit fee under Drainage is for new construction only.

Utility Billing
With new development, certain areas of Schertz will have water provided by the Guadalupe Valley Special Utility District (GVSUD) but have wastewater and garbage provided by Schertz. Due to the fact the City is not providing full services, staff proposes to lower the deposit for water and wastewater services from $125 to $75 for new residents in these designated areas.


Water & Sewer
Water rates are proposed to increase 2% and Sewer rates by 3% for residential and commercial accounts, following the Year 2 of the 5 year rate plan accepted by the City in 2023. This rate plan was set to fund annual increases in operating costs, pay debt, and to fund known capital improvement projects. The overall impact to a resident using 10,000 gallons of water and 5,000 gallons of sewer would be $2.44 per month.

Public Works
Public Works is adding Bulk Water sales to the fee schedule that was in the water ordinance but not included in the fee schedule as well as increasing the Wholesale Water Distribution Rate by the recommended 2% water increase.

To conduct a public hearing to update the Adopted Fee Schedule for FY 2024-25.

Provide a single place for information on City fees.

Staff recommends council approve the proposed changes to the fees schedule.

The overall impact of the Library Fee reduction, Park Fee increase, and the restructuring of Neighborhood Services Fees and Plan Review Fees will be minimal to the General Fund and mostly offset.

The EMS Fee changes could add $1.2 million in additional revenue for the fund which is needed to meet rising costs of providing services.

On average, residential utility customers would see an increase of $2.44 per month, under the recommended second year of the 5-year rate plan and fund the projected operational costs. This would raise $288,000 in water revenue and $297,000 in sewer revenue.

Adopt Ordinance 24-M-124 and updated fees for FY 2024-25