Last fall the town adopted a new fee schedule for its services and facilities based on input from a consulting firm hired to update the fees. At that time the council asked staff to go a step further and prepare a fee waiver policy as a companion to the updated fees.

When council first reviewed the fee plan Councilman David Spelich stated, “I think we give away too much and should raise fees and legitimately collect what we are owed.”

He specifically requested a policy be developed on fee waivers.

At the Sept. 7 regular council session Community Services Director Rachael Goodwin presented her first concept for the new policy, and it appears it will be the subject of much council discussion before possible adopted.

At last week’s meeting Spelich called for a “fair and equitable policy with no one getting a free ride.”

Goodwin said in preparing the plan staff noted three categories of fee waivers related to Community Services. Those include special events, Community Center use and sports groups/activity.

“Each of these face separate challenges, as there is no comprehensive policy that advises when, where and who may receive fee waivers,” Goodwin said. “There is also limited documentation regarding the extent of the waivers and inconsistent application of the existing policy.

“Staff have begun to develop suggestions and recommendations on how this new policy may take shape, however, council input is sought to ensure that they are consistent with leadership’s vision.”

In developing a new policy, Goodwin said she would like to move away from using full-cost waivers and only consider fee discounts up to 50 percent. She is also proposing criteria for eligibility for any type of fee waiver. Those include:

*Must be a Fountain Hills non-profit group.

*Must not be fundraising or have revenue component to the event such as vendor fees or ticket sales.

Anyone who does not meet these criteria would be billed non-profit rental rates per the current fee schedule.

Staff had prepared a report on fees paid and waived during the 2019 fiscal year. That study showed that the town waived a total of more than $200,000 in facilities fees to groups and events.

There was a total of 29 special events for the year and all of those paid some fees, except for three high school events that are covered by an intergovernmental agreement between the Town and the district. The Legacy designation established about five years ago for some special events has become obsolete and will be eliminated. For the 29 events held that year the town collected about $21,000 in fees and waived $133,743 off the fee schedule. Those are the only fees collected in 2019 for any of the three categories in which fees are collected.

For events at the Community Center, the town waived 21,233 in fees. Five events were covered under the IGA with the school district and four were town-sponsored activities.

The Fountain Hills Civic and Cultural Association and 13 affiliated groups paid no fees for Community Center use, accounting for $10,157 in waivers. There were three town-sponsored activities in this grouping and a number of group and board meetings using rooms at the Community Center.

Groups such as Sister Cities, FH Crisis Response Team, Kiwanis blood drives and the Mayor’s State of the Town Address were not charged fees.

In the parks and on sports fields, Little League, youth Soccer Club, Boys & Girls Club and the school district paid no fees for sports fields. Boys & Girls Club has a professional services agreement with the town that needs to be updated, and the schools use is covered in the district’s IGA with the town.

The waiver report indicates no other fees waived for various tournaments and group play using the fields and parks.

Goodwin made clear in her remarks that the town has never used fees as a revenue source, only to defray the costs of those events and activities. The updated fee schedule adopted for the year addressed many of the inconsistencies between actual costs and fees and there were adjustments to both to achieve the best balance.

Staff listened to council comments and the waiver policy remains a work in progress with no scheduled time for further discussion by the council.