City considers adjusting fees

Fees for City services ranging from tearing down dilapidated housing to boarding livestock will go up under a series of fee changes that began with increases approved by City Council at its March 20 meeting.

“Our goal is to make sure the fees we charge cover the cost of the services we provide,” City Manager Jim Couch said. “Our fees have not kept up with increased costs over the years.”

One of the changes being proposed by the Parks and Recreation Department is to raise the cost for renting practice fields. The current rate is $20 for the season and the proposed rate will be $30. Although the full cost of managing and maintaining the practice fields is just over $60, the Parks and Recreation Department doesn’t want to deter teams from using the facilities by charging too much. Parks and Recreation Department Director Wendel Whisenhunt explained, "The Department is trying to balance the need for revenue to support City operations and the need to provide services citizens want at a price they can afford."

In some cases, fees will go down. The basic adoption fee for dogs and cats from the Oklahoma City Animal Shelter, for example, will drop from $65 to $50 when the ordinance goes into effect on April 19. The City wants to encourage citizens to adopt more pets as part of its goal of having a ‘no-kill’ animal shelter, and hopes reducing the cost of adoption will encourage more people to give homes to shelter pets.

The fee increases had their beginning in a task force of Council members and civic leaders recruited by Mayor Mick Cornett in 2004. The task force recommended that an independent consultant review every City service to find out its true cost so the fee for it could be adjusted accordingly.

Fee changes affecting Finance, Parks and Neighborhood Services were introduced or passed by City Council in March. The Police, Fire and Planning Departments are expected to introduce their fee changes in mid-April.

Fee changes approved by Council go into effect thirty days after the final hearing.

In the future, fees will be reviewed every other year for possible adjustment