Beaumont Mitigation Fees Increased Without Council Approval

Mitigation Fee Increases Set For January 1, 2015

By: Libi Uremovic| Original Article at Patch.com

2015-02-22t

On December 3, 2013 the Beaumont City Council introduced Agenda Item 6.b ‘Proposed Fee Schedule’ to raise Mitigation Fees. Bill Blankenship, representing the Riverside County Building Industry Association (BIA), spoke against raising mitigation fees.

The December 17, 2013 Council Agenda included the 2nd reading of Agenda Item 6.b, but the mitigation fees were returned to their original prices. City Staff and Council told the public and Nathan Miller from the BIA that the fees would remain the same and Agenda Item 6.b was only to put all fees on the same Resolution.

On December 17, 2013 Beaumont City Council approved Resolution 6.b

The City of Beaumont’s website lists Mitigation Fee increases for January 1, 2015 and July 1, 1015. http://www.ci.beaumont.ca.us/documentcenter/view/2313

The document is dated July 1, 2014. Fee increases were never ratified by Council nor have fee increases been on the Agenda since December 17, 2013.

Below is City Manager Alan Kapanicas’s transcript from the December 17, 2013 Beaumont City Council Meeting regarding Agenda Item 6.b 2014.

47:30 Kapancias: Mayor/Council, We brought this Item to you as informational at the last meeting. We discussed the way rates are being charged, the way rates could be charged, and Council gave us clear direction that they wanted to hold the rates where they are. So we brought back the rate schedule with the rates they are currently.

Things are a little bit different. In the prior years rates were on different sheets, different Resolutions. We’re asking for all the rates to one Resolution. Over this next year, in conjunction with our other cities in the County, we’re going to be looking at all rates and see where they should be. So we’re asking that all rates be adopted as they are currently charged.

48:50 Kapancias: Over the next year we’re going to be looking at those fees. On a quarterly basis we’ll bring you back any of them that we think are so far off. We’ve let BIA know that they’ve got a year, so we’ll be back here definitely by next November/December with an update of all the fees. It gives us a better time. We’re doing what we originally intended to get them all on one sheet. They’re all in one place now, they’ll all get updated at the same time and in the proper format.

So i’m asking for, unless there’s any questions…

http://www.ci.beaumont.ca.us/documentcenter/view/2313