Proposed Berkeley Fee Hikes in Spotlight

A slew of hefty increases for existing city fees, plus several new fees, are being proposed by Berkeley city staff for adoption by the City Council Tuesday night.

The proposed fee hikes – featured in a prominent article on the front of the San Francisco Chronicle's Bay Area section Monday – include pet licensing and adoptions, tattoo parlors, sailboat berths at the Marina and a number of related services. Other proposed assessments would fees that haven't been charged before.

Among the biggest increases, percentage wise, is the one-year license fee for unaltered dog, which would jump to $75 from the current $30. The same licensed for a fixed dog would be double to $15 from $7.50.

More modest increases of 6 percent are proposed for berth fees at Berkeley Marina, while the annual registration fee for tattoo artists would rise to $85 from $44.

New fees would be adopted for those authorized to sell homemade goods under the California Homemade Food Act, which took effect Jan. 1, allowing the sale of low-risk foods made at home. The fee for producers selling homemade cookies directly to buyers would be $170 while those who sell indirectly would pay $425.

The fee increases are by and large meant to reduce the city's operating deficit for providing services associated with the fees, according to city staff.

For example, the animal shelter's cost of taking care of 2,000 dogs and cats in a given year – about $390,000 – far exceeds the revenue in adoption fees, which amounted to $45,700 for 860 dogs and cats last year, according to the staff report prepared for the council.

The council will take public comments before voting on the fees. The council meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the council chambers.

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