Overview

A user fee, or service fee, is a payment made by an individual for a service that primarily benefits the individual. By law, user fees may not exceed the reasonable cost of the service for which they are collected. The intent of user fees is to cover the costs of providing the service associated with the fee. Each year, the fees may change according to the current San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose CPI.

• Master Fee Schedule

Direct Labor

Employee hours spent directly on the fee-related service. This rate includes the employee’s salary and fringe benefits.

Departmental

Indirect Labor: Departmental employees not directly working on the fee-related service, but responsible for supervision and administrative activities. This cost layer includes secretarial support staff and a portion of the department head’s time.

Central

Overhead: This layer includes those departments that provide support to other City departments. Examples are:

• City Attorney
• City Manager
• Finance
• Human Resources