Town Raises Municipal Fees

Almost 200 fees Los Gatos charges for services such as electrical permits and are increasing.

The was expected to consider the fee hikes Monday evening during its regularly scheduled .

The fees, which go into effect July 1, would be increased based on the Consumer Price Index of 1.3 percent.

Some fees are going up by $1 and $4, and others, such as those imposed by the town's Planning Division, could jump by double and triple digits.

The attached pdf shows all the fees the town charges during the 2010-11 fiscal year and what the recommended amounts would be for fiscal year 2011-12.

"Literally, some are going up by a dollar," said Los Gatos Assistant Budget/Finance Director Jenny Haruyama. "They're pretty low ... We're allowed to adjust them for CPI, because our expenses go up and inflate. We need to pass those along to the fees."

Haruyama said town policy requires cost recovery so that the municipal general fund is not affected.

By law, the fees can't be more than the actual cost to provide the service, explained Haruyama.

Some of the fee increases include:

Overtime parking: $41 to $42

Parking without a permit: $51 to $52

Vehicle storage on street: $66 to $67

Commercial vehicles in residential zones: $66 to 67.

Fraudulent use of permit: $106 to $107

Parking on parkway: $41 to $42

Marked parking space: $41 to 42

Within 15 feet of fire hydrant: $41 to $42

Blocking driveway $41 to $42

Electrical permits: $64 to $65

A permanent sign application for a business: $309 to $313.

Most of the increased parking citations had already been adjusted last month to benefit the California Trial Court Trust Fund as part of passage of Senate Bill 857, approved by the Budget Act of 2010.