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...

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

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...

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...

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

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

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,...

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,...

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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...

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

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,...

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...

I remember enjoying the early Tom Clancy novels. In 1994, I heard that his latest novel, Debt of Honor, involved a commercial airliner...

The common understanding is that a fee study is performed to increase city revenues (even though the conversation should be about...