County Increases 300 Fees, Including Pet Licenses : Revenue: Income is expected to offset rising costs in various areas. Dissenting supervisor says hikes should be reviewed during budget hearings.

Despite the objection of one official, Ventura County supervisors voted Tuesday to approve hundreds of new service fees that will affect the cost of everything from pet licenses to camping charges.

Supervisors voted 4 to 1 to approve more than 300 fee and service rate hikes. Supervisor Judy Mikels cast the dissenting vote, saying she questioned the need for some fee increases and would prefer to review all of them during next summer’s budget hearings.

“The fees need to be adopted with the budget,” Mikels said. “Let’s stop the horse before it goes over the cliff and do this correctly.”

Although agreeing that future fee increases should be combined with the regular budget process, the board went ahead and endorsed nearly all of the rate adjustments.

The new fees are intended to offset escalating personnel and overhead costs of various departments and agencies, many of which have not raised fees in years, officials said. Most of the new fee hikes that will directly affect the public are in the animal control and parks and recreation departments.

For example, dog owners who live in unincorporated areas or in cities that contract with the county for services will now pay $30 for each one-year license. The current fee is $27. Owners with pets that have been neutered or spayed will pay $10, rather than $8.50.

In parks and recreation, overnight camping fees for youths staying at a county campground will go from $1.50 to $2, while adult fees will jump from $1.50 to $5.

Of all county agencies, the county Fire Department had the largest number of fee hikes. The increases are expected to raise between $200,000 and $400,000 in additional revenues annually that will be used to buy new equipment and firetrucks.

But the supervisors postponed a decision on the Fire Department’s request for a new fee of $171 that would be charged to growers for an agricultural burn permit after farm officials complained.

Rex Laird, executive director of the Ventura County Farm Bureau, said he had no information on how the fee was calculated and wanted time to discuss the issue further with Fire Department officials.

“It’s real difficult to believe that the department’s budget is going to be so negatively impacted as to justify a $171 [fee],” Laird said.

Although the board agreed to revisit the issue, it did approve a host of other Fire Department fees that include everything from fire alarm inspections to weed abatement services.

Property owners, for example, who are cited for failing to adequately clear their land of weeds and brush during fire season will have to pay a weed abatement fee of $365 plus related cleanup costs. The current fee is $221 plus cleanup costs.

During Tuesday’s meeting, the supervisors agreed to include any future fee requests during regular budget sessions in June and July.

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Sample of County Fee Hikes

The new fees apply to all unincorporated areas and to those cities that contract with the county for animal regulation, library and fire services.

Animal Regulation

Dog licenses good for one year will increase from $27 to $30. The cost for spayed or neutered dogs will go from $8.50 to $10.

Parks and Recreation

The daytime charge for reserving a baseball field at a county park will increase from $5 to $10 per hour. The cost for evening reservations will go from $10 to $15 per hour.

Overnight fees for youths visiting a county campground will increase from $1.50 to $2. Adult fees will jump from $1.50 to $5.

Library Services Agency

Rental fees for county library meeting rooms will increase from the present rate of $25 per four-hour period. The new rates and time periods will be $50 for up to three hours, $75 for three to five hours and $100 for more than five hours.

County Fire Department

Fire alarm inspections of commercial businesses will increase from $276 to $345, and $33 for each additional 10 alarms.

Weed abatement cleanup services will increase from a base fee of $221 plus cleanup costs to $365 plus cleanup costs.

Source: Chief Administrator’s Office