TO: ADAM PIRRIE, CITY MANAGER
FROM: JEREMY STARKEY, FINANCE DIRECTOR
DATE: JUNE 23, 2026
Reviewed by:
City Manager: AP
SUBJECT:
Title
USER FEE RATE INCREASE OF 3.7 PERCENT BASED UPON THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (CPI) FROM APRIL 2025 TO APRIL 2026 AND ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION APPROVING NEW FEES FOR VARIOUS CITY PROGRAMS AND SERVICES AND AUTOMATIC ANNUAL COST OF LIVING INCREASES, EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2026 (FUNDING SOURCES: VARIOUS FUNDS)
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SUMMARY
The City of Claremont charges fees for a large variety of services provided by all operating departments. These fees range from permit review fees charged by the Community Development Department and facility rental fees charged by the Recreation and Human Services Department to fingerprinting fees charged by the Police Department.
State law requires that fees charged by local governments for the services they provide cannot recover more than the total cost of rendering those services. As a result, periodic user fee studies are required. In 2023, the City contracted with Willdan Financial Services (Willdan) to prepare a Cost Allocation Plan and a Citywide User Fee Study. The purpose of the study was to develop an updated fee schedule to reduce the General Fund subsidy of fees and verify that the City is not charging more than the actual cost of providing services.
In June 2023, the City Council adopted a Comprehensive User Fee Schedule that allows for automatic annual cost of living increases. Resolution 2023-44 provides a mechanism to increase rates annually based upon the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim region for April to April Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Additionally, to continue to meet the goal of recovering the cost of providing services, the City proposes to establish new fees for programs and services as specified in the Resolution (Attachment C). The proposed Resolution also provides a mechanism to increase these new fees annually based upon the CPI for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim region for April to April. Fee increases pursuant to the CPI will be administratively approved by the City Manager and presented to the City Council as an informational item.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommended Action
Staff recommends the City Council:
A. Receive and file the 2026 Citywide User Fee Schedule, effective July 1, 2026; and
B. Adopt A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING A SCHEDULE OF NEW FEES FOR VARIOUS CITY PROGRAMS AND SERVICES AND AUTOMATIC ANNUAL COST OF LIVING INCREASES.
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ALTERNATIVES TO RECOMMENDATION
In addition to the recommendation, there are the following alternatives:
A. Request additional information from staff.
B. Reject the proposed fee changes.
C. Request changes to the proposed fee schedule.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
The proposed increases in user fees are projected to recover the updated cost of providing City services. Additional revenues that may result from the increase in user fees are difficult to predict since the demand for City services is variable.
The staff cost related to this project is estimated at $2,860 and is included in the operating budgets of each City department.
ANALYSIS
The City of Claremont charges fees for a large variety of services provided by all the City’s operating departments. The appropriateness of these fees with regard to cost recovery needs to be reviewed periodically. City staff undertakes a new Cost Allocation Plan and Citywide User Fee Study every five years. The latest study conducted in 2023 ensures that fees charged by the City are appropriate in terms of cost recovery and with respect to any new regulations or requirements since the last fee study. While the goal of adjusting fees is 100 percent cost recovery, some fees are recommended at less than 100 percent due to the desire to make the services more accessible to the community, and to avoid substantial increases in the costs of those services.
Staff believes it is important to adjust fees on a regular basis to keep pace with inflation, and to avoid a situation where fees remain unchanged for several years, with large, growing General Fund subsidies for services provided. As such, on June 27, 2023, the City Council adopted a Comprehensive User Fee Schedule and allowed for automatic annual cost of living increases. Resolution 2023-44 provided a mechanism to increase rates annually based upon the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim region for April to April Consumer Price Index (CPI). Using the April CPI figure will allow staff the necessary time to implement fee adjustments effective July 1st of each year.
The 3.7 percent CPI increase was applied to a majority of fees with the exceptions noted below. However, certain fees were rounded down to streamline the dollar amounts.
Notable exceptions by department are as follows:
Community Development
Many of the services performed by the Planning Division are charged at the actual cost, with project applicants providing a deposit against which the actual costs are charged. The costs charged against these deposits include staff time, at the fully burdened hourly rates included in Attachment B, as well as consultant time charged at actual cost. The deposits for these services remained the same in the Citywide User Fee Schedule in Attachment A, however the fully burdened hourly rates were increased by the 3.7 percent CPI rate in Attachment B.
Community Services
Sanitation and Sewer Fees reflected in the Citywide User Fee Schedule will be taken separately to the City Council upon completion of the Sewer & Sanitation Rate Study. The 3.7 percent CPI increase was applied to miscellaneous sanitation related fees.
The Proposed Citywide User Fee Schedule, incorporating the CPI increase effective July 1, 2026, is included as Attachment A to this report. Further, the Fully Burdened Hourly Rates for staff who provide services that are charged on an hourly basis are included as Attachment B.
Proposed New Fees
Staff have proposed the new fees outlined below. If approved, the new fees will become effective July 1, 2026, and will be incorporated into the Comprehensive User Fee Schedule.
The proposed new fees are as follows:
Police Department
Carry Concealed Weapon Permit Amendment
The amendment will occur when a current Carry Concealed Weapon Permit (CCW) holder needs to add/remove a firearm from their CCW card or change any other information. The $25 fee covers the cost for printing of the new ID card and staff time for verification and updating the information.
Community Development
Certificate of Appropriateness (minor)
Section 16.302.120 of the Claremont Municipal Code requires approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness by staff or the Architectural and Preservation Commission when activities or work are proposed that could significantly affect a Cultural Resource or contributor to a Historic District. The Code lays out two review paths: Commission Review for Major Projects and Staff Review for Minor Projects. The current fee schedule has a large deposit amount ($2,000) that would generally apply to Major Projects that require Commission review. A lower, fixed amount for minor (staff level) reviews is appropriate. Staff believes the appropriate amount for Minor Certificates of Appropriateness that warrant neighbor noticing under Section 16.302.150.D.2 is a $375 fixed fee.
This low, fixed fee amount is designed to cover staff costs for most of these reviews while also providing clarity for applicants regarding the actual cost of the review. Keeping this cost clear and manageable will help ensure the process is transparent for applicants and encourage greater compliance with the Cultural Resource Preservation Ordinance. Staff level Certificates that do not warrant noticing will continue to have no fee if staff finds the action to be consistent with the Secretary of the Interior Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
Short-Term Rental Program Fees
On May 13, 2025, the Claremont City Council adopted Resolution 2025-21, establishing fee rates for the Short-Term Rental program, including the initial application fee of $606.85, renewal fee of $451.85, rental re-inspection fee of $98.75, and a supplemental hourly fee for review of unpermitted or unverified habitable space of $84.40. The resolution provides that these fees shall be adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI). To formalize this provision, staff are incorporating these fees into the Citywide User Fee Schedule.
Recreation and Human Services
The Recreation and Human Services Department is proposing several minor increases to existing facility rental and program fees to account for increases in the cost of goods and services. The Department is also proposing new fees to formalize existing practices (such as charges for the 4th of July Celebration, excursions, banners, and contract classes) as well as fees to accompany additional or expanded programming opportunities (such as staff-led recreation programs and permitting non-resident participation in the Camp Claremont program).
Parking Lot Use
The Recreation and Human Services Department proposes two new fees for non-exclusive rental of park parking lots for overflow parking. Throughout the year, several non-profit organizations request use of park parking lots for overflow parking. The $120 daily fee for smaller parking lots and $350 daily fee for larger lots accounts for maintenance of the facilities due to the increased use. Other permitting or rental fees would continue to apply, depending on the nature of the application.
Village Light Pole Banner Installation/Deinstallation
Staff is proposing a new fee to recover the cost of installing and removing Village light pole banners. This would be a cost-recovery, pass-through fee that reflects the staff time required for Community Services personnel to install and remove banners for organizations sponsoring non-City banners. The fee would not apply to the Claremont Chamber of Commerce’s Village Venture banners or the Claremont Colleges banners, as these are part of long-standing community partnerships. The proposed fee would instead apply to nonprofit organizations seeking to add new banners to the Village Banner Schedule, ensuring that the City recovers the associated staff costs.
Camp Claremont Non-Resident Registration
Camp Claremont is one of the Recreation and Human Services Department’s most popular programs and has previously been limited to Claremont residents, resulting in the exclusion of classmates and friends of some participants. The Department proposes a non-resident fee of $145 to allow non-resident registration, which will only occur after several weeks of resident priority registration has occurred. This fee is designed to recover the full per child cost of offering the camp and is not subsidized.
Claremont Hills Wilderness Park (CHWP) Special Use/Scientific Collection Permit
Under the Claremont Municipal Code and the CHWP Master Plan, the Recreation and Human Services Department is authorized to issue permits for scientific collection and study to qualified researchers as well as certain activities, such as groups of over 20 persons for field trips. The proposed $35 fee will account for the significant amount of staff time required to review these applications to determine if a permit is appropriate, which may include consulting with experts, California Fish and Wildlife, or other agencies.
4th of July Celebration
The Department proposes incorporating these existing fees for booths and fireworks tickets into the City’s fee schedule. These fees offset the cost of offering the 4th of July Celebration to the Claremont community but were previously not recorded in this document.
Park Event Permit - New & Repeat Events
Previously, the Recreation and Human Services Department charged an application fee of $100 for special event permits and an additional $150 fee to conduct the neighborhood notifications required by the Claremont Municipal Code. To simplify the fee structure for repeat events, the fee will be listed as $250 total. To address the additional staff time required to process first-time events, the Department is proposing to implement a $500 fee for new events.
Contract Classes Registration Fee
The Department currently offers contract classes where fees are set by the contract instructor in accordance with applicable law. This fee formalizes this practice.
Recreation Classes / Activities - Staff Led
To provide new and exciting recreation programs to the community, the Recreation and Human Services Department is proposing to add a variable fee of up to $50 to cover the cost of staff-led activities, such as seasonal workshops.
Excursions
The Department’s Recreation Division is proposing to add an “actual cost” fee for excursions offered to the community, similar to those offered in the Senior Division. The cost per person will be determined by the cost of the activity, transportation (when applicable) and staff, but will not exceed these actual costs.
RELATIONSHIP TO CITY PLANNING DOCUMENTS
Staff has evaluated the agenda item in relationship to the City’s strategic and visioning documents and finds that it applies to the following City Planning Documents: Council Priorities, General Plan, and the 2024-26 Budget.
CEQA REVIEW
This item is not subject to environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS
This item has been noticed in accordance with all applicable State and local laws, including but not limited to Government Code Sections 6062a, 66016, 66017, and 66018. The agenda and staff report for this item have been posted on the City website and distributed to interested parties. If you desire a copy, please contact the City Clerk’s Office.
Submitted by:
Jeremy Starkey
Finance Director
Attachments:
A - Proposed Citywide User Fee Schedule
B - Fully Burdened Hourly Rates
C - Resolution to Adopt Schedule of New Fees