LOS GATOS
– The county’s Parks Department wants to adjust several user
fees at its 27 facilities, meaning it could cost more to hold a
special event or rent a shotgun but less to hold big campouts.
LOS GATOS – The county’s Parks Department wants to adjust several user fees at its 27 facilities, meaning it could cost more to hold a special event or rent a shotgun but less to hold big campouts.
The department wants to create a so-called “universal camping fee” that would decrease the cost for a second car at a campsite from $6 to $4 and eliminate fees for bringing pets to the campground.
It also plans to decrease its fees for an annual photography permit from $400 to $100 because sales of the permits have dwindled.
Despite being doubled last year, fees for special events are still below average according to a department survey. For events fewer than 100 people, fees would rise from the current $80 to $120. Between 100 and 500 people, they would double to $220, and for more than 500 they would double to $440.
Administrative fees for customers who need a park for extra hours or need extra cleanup would rise from $35 to $45 an hour. And the cost to rent a shotgun at the field sports park would be a flat $10.
A new fee of $188 would be levied for encroachment permits.
The department surveyed and compared its fees against nine other Bay Area and Central Coast park agencies last winter at the request of the Board of Supervisors. For the first time, it also studied fees related to cost discovery for staff time and services.
Under a policy adopted in 1999, the department’s use fees can be no less than the average of all use fee comparisons compiled through the market analysis.
“In most other categories, the department’s fees are either at or slightly above the average,” wrote Bruce Kosanovic, administrative services manager.
The increases would bolster the department’s budget by an estimated $95,000, or about 4.3 percent. If approved by supervisors, the changes would go into effect July 1.
