Blog | Revenue & Cost Specialists

Jul 13
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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Gregory Brown

Jun 14
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
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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Apr 11
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
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
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
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,...

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Gregory Brown

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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Oct 11, 2022
3 min

A Discussion of Development Impact Fees

On September 8th of this year, I had the opportunity to attend the League of California Cities annual conference as a speaker. I’m kind...

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Sep 11, 2022
2 min

The Nuts and Bolts of Getting Your Fees Approved

So, you’ve just spent the last number of months developing a Cost of Services Study with recommendations to update your fees, and now...

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Aug 14, 2022
4 min

Econ & Psych 101 and the Overconsumption of Water

How a review of basic economics and psychology can help us solve the "water crisis."

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Chu Thai

Jul 18, 2022
6 min

Setting the Record Straight on PRA Fees

The California Public Records Act (PRA), all the supplementary legislation, and numerous court decisions has made it clear and specific...

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Jun 12, 2022
3 min

How not to calculate Development Impact Fees - How AB 602 may affect you

2022 brought into law a new effort to standardize Development Impact Fees with the passage of AB 602, which, among other things, requires...

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May 15, 2022
2 min

How often is enough? When should you update your fees

As a fee consultant, the question that I get asked most often is, “How often should we be updating our fees?” Once I dispose of the...

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Apr 10, 2022
2 min

Seeking Civil Society - Redux

“Yes, Virginia, It Does Matter Whose Ox is Gored.” I’m sincerely interested in promoting civil society. As a preface to this article, I...

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Feb 10, 2022
1 min

CSMFO Conference

If you are attending the CSMFO Conference in San Diego next week, please stop by Booth 313 and say Hi. And if you are coming on Tuesday,...

12 views0 comments

Nov 14, 2021
2 min

Taxes already pay staff’s salaries, don’t they?

A question that I am often asked by City Council members is, “Aren’t taxes already paying staff’s salaries, so why do we need to worry...

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