Services

We establish the full cost of service basis for user and regulatory fees, including fully burdened labor time and fair allocations of indirect costs. We structure and redesign fees to ensure alignment with business practices, systems capabilities, and California Proposition 26 obligations to fee payors. We draft cost recovery policies to match fee outcomes with policymaker intentions for best use of governmental revenues.

This consulting is applicable across most municipal services: community and land development, building safety, code compliance, public safety, emergency services, fire prevention, public works, engineering, utilities, parks, recreation, community services, libraries, licensing, facilities use, and other services, permitting, and regulation.

We help agencies consolidate decentralized fee schedules throughout their organization into a single governing fee schedule with streamlined resolution-based ability to modify over time. This supports the sustainability of fees with linkage to cost of service principles.

We develop tools for in-house annual adjustments to fees in line with adopted resolutions.

We provide routine services to perform fee schedule updates between less frequent comprehensive fee studies.

We support decisionmakers with supplemental information that facilitates thoughtful consideration of cost recovery policy and fee impacts on their constituents.

We develop regional comparisons of fees and related policies. We compare fee burdens between like applicants and project profiles between jurisdictions.

We research fee structures for similar services within comparable governing frameworks. We research underlying cost drivers in other agencies to explain disparate outcomes.

We engage industry stakeholders to understand fee payor perspectives and continually improve analysis and information justifying fees.

We prepare the quantitative analysis that supports an allocation of agency overhead costs to outward-facing public services. Allocated overhead typically represents central oversight, administration, and support services necessary to deliver public services to communities.

We deliver interfund charges for service and indirect cost rates as the mechanisms for cost recovery. These plans can be prepared for localized full cost applications or federal program applications in conformance with OMB 2 CFR 200.

We develop financial plans for internal service funds, including revenue requirement forecasting and cost allocation to benefiting users. We analyze reserves and associated policies for long-term fund management.

These studies inform an agency’s budget development during the earliest part of the cycle by providing interfund charges for billed central services. We help communicate the impact of charges on internal users responsible for departmental budget management.

This consulting covers internal services such as fleet, equipment, warehouse, facilities, technology, and insurance.

We use GIS skills to enhance our delivered work products across our service offerings and to conduct ad hoc analysis requested by our clients.

Our capability with GIS is critical in our special financing district and tax measure services, particularly in compliance reviews, levy audits, and special studies.

Our GIS skills also enhance our array of cost of service studies by providing additional means for crafting fair alternative allocations of program costs to payors when applicable.

We provide ongoing administration, levy and revenue management, Proposition 218 compliance, reporting, financial analysis, and stakeholder coordination for established special financing districts and tax measures.

We help public agencies meet their obligations while keeping funding programs accurate, transparent, and responsive to changing needs. Once established, effective administration is essential to maintaining the integrity and long-term success of a district or tax measure.

We guide public agencies through the full life of a special financing district or tax measure — from the first feasibility conversation to long-term oversight.

Our work begins with formation, where we structure districts and measures that are legally sound, defensible, and built to fund the services and infrastructure a community needs now or to support future development.

We help public agencies address specialized initiatives, evolving program needs, and one-time challenges that require focused technical and strategic support. We conduct compliance reviews, levy and revenue audits, program and financial reviews, feasibility analyses, additional funding strategy development, special studies, and other targeted assignments. Through experience and perspective, we help agencies move forward with confidence, whether evaluating an existing program, identifying and resolving an issue, or developing a solution to a unique challenge.