DATE: May 12, 2020
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Daniel C. Cederborg
SUBJECT: Amendment to Master Schedule of Fees - Section 600
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Conduct first hearing to amend the Fresno County Master Schedule of Fees, Charges and Recovered Costs Ordinance by revising Section 600, Subsection 601 - Legal Services relating to County Counsel fees; waive reading of the ordinance in its entirety and set the second hearing for May 26, 2020;
2. Designate County Counsel to prepare a fair and adequate summary of the proposed Ordinance; and
3. Direct the Clerk of the Board to post and publish the required summary in accordance with Government Code Section 25124(b)(1)
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will revise an existing fee in the Master Schedule of Fees, Charges, and Recovered Costs (MSF) Section 600, Subsection 601 based on actual County Counsel costs effective June 29, 2020. The fee is charged to County departments with third-party funding and other public agencies. This item is countywide
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your board may choose not to amend the MSF Ordinance and direct staff to use the current fee or propose an alternate fee, which may not recover 100% of departmental staff costs.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. It is anticipated that the proposed rate will allow the County Counsel’s office to recover the cost of providing services to County departments and other public agencies.
DISCUSSION:
The County Counsel’s Office has completed a review of the hourly rate charged to County departments and public agencies for legal services. As a result, it has been determined that there should be an increase from the current hourly rate of $122 to a new hourly rate of $141. The adjustment requested is to reflect current costs for salaries, benefits, services, supplies and overhead as noted on Exhibit A of the Ordinance. The County Counsel hourly rate for attorneys was last updated in 2015.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Ordinance
On file with Clerk - Ordinance Summary
CAO ANALYST:
Raul Guerra