Monterey County Fees Increase
Monterey County has increased a number of fees associated with construction and permit processing, including a substantial increase to the real estate disclosure report.
Prior to July 27, 2009, the charge for a real estate disclosure report (which is optional but recommended) from the County of Monterey was $75.00. Today, that same report will cost $260.00.
The County Building Services Department who provides this service had been operating in the red for at least five years, pulling resources from the general fund in order to balance. The new fee increases are an attempt at 100% cost recovery for the services they provide to the public, known as enterprise funding.
(Enterprise funding for governmental activities is built upon the idea of a self-sustaining cost center operating similar to private business funding. The primary purpose of establishing the fund is to isolate all revenues and expenditures for purposes of accountability. Costs are clearly identified and recovered, and citizens can better understand the full cost associated with services rendered)
County consultants provided staff and the Board of Supervisors with an analysis depicting the actual cost associated with performing a real estate disclosure report. The analysis included staff time and resources required to conduct the research.
In order to more accurately track expenses, a move to an enterprise fund is certainly understandable, though a jump from $75.00 - $260.00 is somewhat difficult to digest.
As part of the increase in fees and shift to enterprise funding, the County will perform an audit and analysis at the end of the fiscal year to determine how accurate revenue and costs were projected via the consultants report. MCAR will participate in meetings with County staff upon conclusion of the analysis to ensure the fees levied are indeed justified and whether or not an adjustment is warranted.
We will closely monitor this process and communicate with county staff regularly in an effort to ensure this truly is 100% cost recovery and not an attempt to acquire unjustified revenue.
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