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While fees for most public services are climbing in Menlo Park, the electric vehicle charging access fee was reduced by half, from $1 to 50 cents.
The Menlo Park City Council unanimously adopted a new master fee schedule at a Tuesday, Jan. 9, meeting. The ordinance takes effect on Feb 8.
Menlo Park has seen a steady increase in both the number and sales of electric vehicles, or EVs, in the past decade.
Last July, the first 500 of a targeted 3,500 chargers, part of a $28 million San Mateo County program, were installed countywide.
According to the ordinance, the city has increased all meeting room rental fees at libraries, recreation centers, community campuses and gymnasiums by 5%. The hourly rate of Menlo Park Municipal Water (MPMW) service request fee outside business hours was raised by 64% to $266.
Non-residents pays more than residents for library and community services fees, reflecting the discussion about affordability and priority at the Dec. 5 meeting, when the schedule was first introduced.
“We need to prioritize the Menlo Park residents who actually fund these facilities,” Council member Betsy Nash said at a Dec. 5, 2023 meeting.
There is also a hyperlocal rate for recreation and sports services at certain facilities. It applies to residents who “live or attend K-12 school within the neighborhood service,” the schedule reads.
“I like the idea of hyperlocal,” Nash said. “It will touch a lot of people who may not need it. I guess it’s better to be overinclusive than underinclusive on that.”
At the Jan. 9 meeting, the City Council also introduced an amended aquatic fee schedule. It will take effect on April 1 this year once approved.
The last time the City Council approved updates to the master fee schedule was in August 2022. The most recent cost of services study, which informs the fee structure, was presented in February 2018.
The city government aims at updating the cost of services study on at least a five-year basis, and expects to launch a new process this summer, according to Brittany Mello, the city’s administrative services director. It means the current approved fee schedule will be effective until around March 2025, when another updated master fee structure is presented following the cost study.
The full master fee schedule can be accessed on the city website.
