Clayton to vote on updated fee schedule Aug. 15
CLAYTON, CA (July 20, 2023) — I hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th of July this year. I want to thank city staff and volunteers for putting on a wonderful parade event for the whole town to enjoy.
Speaking of events in town, the Concerts in The Grove series takes place every other Saturday through Sept. 16. Concerts start at 6 p.m.
And just around the corner on Aug. 1, the Clayton Police Department is hosting National Night Out. This is an event held across the country to bring together community members and local law enforcement. It is a time to have some food, music and be together with our police, who serve and protect us, and come together as neighbors throughout the community. The event will be 6-9 p.m. in the upper lot at Clayton Community Park.
Master Fee Schedule
These city-sponsored community events are wonderful, but the work of the city does not stop. Recently, we held a special meeting to address questions relating to the proposed update to our Master Fee Schedule. Ultimately, the City Council engaged a consultant to assess the adequacy of our Master Fee Schedule and propose changes to do two things:
1. Ensure the fees were based on a full recovery method, including direct costs such as salaries and benefits, and indirect costs such as departmental administration costs and citywide support costs such as accounting, maintenance and insurance.
2. Bring forward a proposal for fees for special events, including a discount for Clayton-based non-profits.
The proposed update to the Master Fee Schedule did both of these things. Fees for various services, like a tree removal permit or a building permit, were adjusted to reflect actual costs. In addition, a new category of fees was created for special events. This would be applicable for a large event that would require streets to be closed, such as Oktoberfest or a parade. For those types of events with 100 participants or greater, a daily Special Event Fee was proposed that would be based on the number of participants, with the smallest tier at $700 for up to 499 participants, and $10,000 for events with 5,000 participants or greater.
Any discount from stated rates is a policy decision that the council can make. Discounts represent taxpayer subsidies and should be made judiciously. We offer discounts in a variety of ways throughout the fee schedule – typically for those who reside in Clayton vs. those who do not.
Endeavor Hall offers a steep discount as the intent of Endeavor is to be a meeting place of residents and to support the arts. Such uses do not typically generate net income.
Here’s some examples of the magnitude of figures that could be relevant for Special Event Fees. For Art & Wine 2022, BBQ 2022, Oktoberfest 2022 and Art & Wine 2023, the portion of direct staff charges paid to the city were $9,888, $6,676, $10,369 and $9,075, respectively. The fees waived under the Master Use Agreement for each event represented approximately $5,000 to $7,000.
In comparison, the revenue for the first three events was $284,000, $95,000 and $281,000. After associated expenses inclusive of the staff time noted above, net incomes were $137,000, $24,000 and $115,000.
Ultimately, the council gave direction to staff to prepare a two-tiered discount methodology, offering a greater discount to Clayton based non-profits at 30% and a smaller discount to non-Clayton based non-profits at 15%.
The public hearing to receive comment and vote on the proposed update to the Master Fee Schedule is on Aug. 15 during our regular council meeting.
Send comments and questions for the mayor to jeff.wan@clayton.ci.gov