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Department: Budget & Performance Management
Director: Karen Rhodes-Whitley, Director of Budget & Research
Agenda Item: Approval of an Ordinance to Set Master Fee Schedule and Cost Recovery Fee Adjustments
Recommended Action: Adoption of Ordinances
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Item Summary
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To repeal prior fee ordinances; consolidating other city fees into a fee schedule; adopting the Master Fee Schedule; updating fees for Fire Rescue, Planning, Parks and Recreation and Environmental Health and Sustainability; adopting general regulations regarding city fees; and providing a repealer clause, a severability clause, a savings clause, a penalty clause, a publication clause, and an effective date.
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Previous Action/Presentation
In March 2025, City Council approved the City of Plano’s new Cost Recovery Policy established to ensure the appropriate level of costs associated with the provision of facilities, programs, and services are recouped. The Policy, alongside approved cost recovery targets established by City Council, provide staff with consistent guidelines for determining the price of programs and services. At the Budget Work Session on August 13, 2026, City Council discussed cost recovery targets for the Parks and Recreation Department and Environmental Health and Sustainability department which were incorporated into the FY 2026-27 operating budget. The resulting fee changes are detailed in the attachment.
Background
This ordinance contains two major actions: (1) the consolidation of fees from multiple ordinances into the Master Fee Schedule and adding a new section to the City Code of Ordinances, and (2) fee adjustments for Fire Rescue, Planning, Parks and Recreation, and Environmental Health and Sustainability departments, including new fees in Environmental Health and Sustainability. This ordinance and fee schedule will be effective January 1, 2027.
Ordinance & Exhibit A: Consolidation of Fees into a Master Fee Schedule
Fees administered by the City’s departments are currently established through multiple ordinances, resolutions, and fee schedules adopted at different times, which makes it difficult for staff, Council, and the public to identify the fee in effect for a given service. For the convenience of the public and City staff, the City wishes to consolidate most fees into a single fee schedule that will be adopted annually. This action adopts a consolidated Master Fee Schedule (Exhibit A) that centrally locates City fees.
• No change to existing fees: Fees are carried forward into the Master Fee Schedule at their current amounts, except for adjustments included in Action 2 for Fire Rescue, Planning, Parks and Recreation, and Environmental Health and Sustainability departments.
• Fees not in the schedule: Certain fees or rates will not be found in the Master Fee Schedule due to differing legal requirements for adoption.
• Repeal of prior fee provisions: All ordinances, resolutions, fee schedules, administrative fee schedules, and policies that establish a fee or charge addressed by this ordinance are repealed only to the extent they conflict with the Master Fee Schedule.
• New Section 1-11 (Fees) of the City Code of Ordinances: establishes general regulations regarding City fees including:
o Fees recover actual costs, including overhead, are set by Council, and are listed in the Master Fee Schedule, which prevails over any directly conflicting ordinance, regulation, or policy.
o Fees must be paid in full before a license, permit, or service is issued unless another ordinance, contract, or law says otherwise.
o Council delegates to department directors the authority to set fees for resale items, third-party pass-through services, and hourly staff costs, with pass-throughs limited to actual cost plus a minimal markup and no markup on staff hourly costs.
Fee Adjustments and New Fees, see Attachment: Fee Comparison: Current and Proposed
Fire Rescue Department
As part of the Policy’s annual fee review process, Fire Rescue is proposing a 2.7% increase for FY 2026-27 for their fees to keep in line with the CPI.
Planning Department
Their current proposed fee adjustments are Phase 2 from their fee study last year and increase the department’s estimated overall fee-generating recovery from the current 43% to 58%.
Parks and Recreation Department
The proposed fees are intended to align with the newly established targets while supporting the continued delivery of Parks and Recreation services with some fees phased in over two years, increasing the department’s estimated overall fee-generating recovery from the current 51% to 58%.
Part of the proposed alignment to policy are changes to the Recreation and Sam Johnson Memberships:
• Simplifying Recreation Memberships to resident and non-resident tiers, which removes the PISD and Work in Plano tier
• Splitting the Sam Johnson Membership into two tiers: 50-59 yr olds and 60 plus
Environmental Health and Sustainability Department
Based on the newly approved recovery targets, proposed fee adjustments will be phased in over three years with FY 2026-27 considered Phase 1, increasing the department’s estimated overall fee-generating recovery from the current 45% to 56% and including new fees.
Financial Summary/Strategic Goals
This item proposes to revise fees for Fire Rescue, Planning, Parks and Recreation, and Environmental Health and Sustainability to align with their approved recovery targets and establishes several new fees in Environmental Health and Sustainability. The increase for each service varies and the exact amount of additional revenue is indeterminable at this time; however, the estimated financial impact equates to approximately $1,143,496 in the General Fund, $218,000 in the Golf Course Fund, and $63,825 in the Municipal Drainage Fund annually. This revision would increase revenues collected in these funds for FY 2026-27 and future years, with amounts determined by participation and demand.
Approval of this item supports the City's Strategic Plan Critical Success Factor of Excellent, Innovative, and Accountable City Government.
Attachments
Ordinance
Exhibit A
Fee Comparison: Current to Proposed