Blog | Revenue & Cost Specialists

Jul 20
3 min

What is a Defensible Impact Fee Nexus?

AB-1600 (1989), later Chaptered as Government Code 66000, identified and codified the process and nexus effort required to calculate and...

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Jun 11
2 min

California Development Impact Fee AB 602 Website Requirements

AB 602 came into effect on January 1, 2022. One of the Assembly Bill's main goals was to create more transparency for development impact...

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May 21
2 min

Update your Building Revenues without changing your Building Fees

Building & Safety fees for new construction have historically been charged based on the construction value of the work being done. This...

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Rick Kermer

Apr 16
3 min

Budgetary Pitfalls - Revisited

As most of you are neck deep in your budget, we thought we would remind you about some budgetary pitfalls that we have experienced over...

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Feb 14
4 min

Negative Development Impact - It was bound to happen

Over the many years of calculating development impact fees, RCS has largely worked with cities/public agencies that have had significant...

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Jan 23
1 min

CSMFO Conference

If you are attending the CSMFO Conference in Anaheim next week, please stop by Booth 426 and say Hi. And if you are coming on Tuesday,...

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Dec 12, 2023
2 min

Every City needs a Master Facility Plan

The Master Facilities Plan (MFP) is a valuable tool for effective urban planning and development. It serves as a comprehensive, long-term...

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Nov 14, 2023
2 min

Let the Council decide

When reviewing fee recommendations with staff as part of a Cost of Services Study, there are often discussions about what they think the...

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Rick Kermer

Oct 17, 2023
4 min

Comparing Your Fees to Other Cities?

Before the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978, I was a finance director in California. Annually, finance directors would calculate the...

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Chu Thai

Aug 17, 2023
2 min

Just be yourself and don’t compare

In just about every project we work on our client city asks for a fee comparison to neighboring cities. And just about every time we...

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Jul 13, 2023
4 min

Where is the General Plan Financial Element?

1927 - State creates (requires) authority for cities/counties to prepare a General Plan. 1955 - Circulation and Land Use Elements...

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Jun 14, 2023
3 min

The Echo City

An Echo City Buildout is a new type of city structure that we are encountering on the development impact side of RCS. The term Echo City...

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May 16, 2023
2 min

Next Steps After a Fee Update

So you have just updated your fees and you are justifiably proud of this accomplishment. Now, what’s next? You could just rest on your...

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Rick Kermer

Apr 11, 2023
2 min

CAP Changes Affecting the FBHR

As an astute governmental finance professional, you already know the impact on the Fully Burdened Hourly Rate (FBHR) caused by salary and...

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Mar 14, 2023
3 min

Independent Audits of Impact Fee Receipts

Your public agency is experiencing development, so, to get out in front of it: 1. You have a development impact fee calculation and...

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Chu Thai

Feb 14, 2023
2 min

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, Let's go meet in my room

So, I can crunch numbers all night…and make it all right. Yeah, video conferencing has become a part of my workplace, and in my opinion,...

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Jan 24, 2023
1 min

CSMFO Conference

If you are attending the CSMFO Conference in Sacramento next week, please stop by Booth 200 and say Hi. And if you are coming on Tuesday,...

9 views0 comments

Nov 15, 2022
2 min

Can Impact Fees Cover Operational Costs?

Can Development Impact Fees (DIFs) cover operational costs? This question eventually comes up in every DIF meeting I have ever attended...

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