HomeMy WebLinkAbout7/2/2024 Item 7a, Schmidt, R. (2)
Richard Schmidt <
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Agenda 6a fees
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Dear Council,
Another thought about the exorbitant fee increase package before you.
Something here makes no sense. The fee package was last “updated” to recover costs 5 years ago, and each
subsequent year fees were increased according to the CPI. In other words, fees have tracked inflation.
So why are the fees now supposedly so out of whack that increases of 300% and higher are being requested?
This makes no sense.
So what’s going on?
Why have “costs” gone up so much in such a short time?
Has the city changed how it calculates “costs?”
Is something else going on to radically inflate “costs?”
The Council needs to do some due diligence here, and get to the bottom of it. And you may not be able to rely upon staff
to help you – after all, you have their recommendation that makes no sense.
I would further point out that there are multiple ways to deal with a situation of this sort – that is, an alleged fee vs. cost
incongruity.
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One way is to deal with the demand side, as staff has done, by recommending radically raising fees charged by the city.
Another approach, and one the city must turn to sooner or later, is to deal with the supply side, the costs themselves,
and figure out how to cut those costs so unreasonable fees no longer need to be on the table.
Money doesn’t grow on trees, and sooner or later this city will be forced to reckon with its spendthrift ways. Better to do so
proactively before economic crisis hits, rather than wait till emergency draconian cuts are impossible to avoid, is it not?
For the good of all, please figure this out.
Richard Schmidt
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