There are four players in the development game: developers, contractors, landowners and residents. Each plays a critical role, and each...

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...

Most every municipal finance officer is aware of the five findings (in Government Code §66000) required to adopt development impact...

We all know that government is not allowed to make a profit on the services that it provides. While there are exceptions with the rental...

Have you heard of Doug Ayres? If you are old enough, you might have worked for him or taken a class from him. Or, like me, you might have...

At about every other Council or town-hall meeting I attend there is the question about whether development fees (planning fees, permit...

The land-use database inventory is the spine of any Development Impact Fee (henceforth DIF ) calculation effort. It is a data table that...

Since there is a lot of interest in credit card processing and convenience fees recently, I thought this would be a great time to write...

As the typical reader of the RCS blog articles, you are a technically skilled government finance professional and can make a strong...

While performing a fee update and going through the hundreds of different fees and fines which a city may have, we noticed some fees...

In my early years of calculating development impact fees (henceforth DIFs) I had to experiment with different nexus factors for...

As part of a Cost of Services Study we are usually asked to provide the full cost of Recreation services and then make recommendations to...

Forty years ago, in 1978, California voters passed Proposition 13 by an overwhelming margin. This proposition significantly changed...

There are two different approaches to doing a Fee Study. You can either do a comprehensive study that involves the entire organization...

This last January 16th I watched with no small amount of pride while the Chino City Council adopted an updated set of development impact...

The same person who is credited with inventing accounting, Luca Pacioli, an Italian mathematician from the 15th century, is also credited...

When the authors of Proposition 4 in 1979 were writing the ballot measure it was based on the idea that government should act more like a...

During my time as a Finance Director I was happy with hiring the best user fee consultant for the job and letting him or her do all the...

You’re going into the fiscal year with a balanced budget and no clouds on the fiscal sky. Suddenly, in July, your police chief announces...

In July I wrote about the State Legislature requiring easier paths to increasing residential Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) construction...