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The Yolo County Board of Supervisors approved dozens of fee increases Tuesday as the county works to close a multimillion-dollar budget deficit, while delaying action on several proposed increases that could affect homeowners.
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The board approved more than 140 changes to the county’s fee schedule in a 4-1 vote, with most increasing the cost of county services. Supervisors pulled several proposed building-related fees for additional analysis before approving the remainder.
Yolo County recently eliminated more than 120 positions in an effort to balance its budget. The county faced a $35 million budget shortfall for the 2026-27 fiscal year and anticipates additional deficits for at least the next two years. In addition to cutting positions, the county reduced contracts, deferred maintenance and delayed ongoing projects. Officials have also proposed increasing the tax on hotel stays and short-term rentals in unincorporated areas of the county to boost revenue.
affect the Agriculture Department, County Counsel, Community Services, General Services, the library, the Sheriff’s Office and other county departments.
Supervisors also debated whether county fees should simply recover the cost of providing services or help generate additional revenue.
“Any changes we make to this revenue source has implications for the budget and I really want us to know what those implications are,” Supervisor Mary Vixie Sandy said. She said changing the fees after the board adopted its budget two weeks earlier could create additional fiscal challenges if the county had already accounted for the expected revenue.
Agriculture Department
The county increased the cost of a phytosanitary certificate from $60 to $65. The county also increased the cost of farm labor contractor and pest control operator certificates from $25 to $60. The changes are expected to generate an additional $38,140 in annual revenue.
Sheriff’s Office
The Sheriff’s Office will increase the cost of Live Scan fingerprinting from $25 to $30 and increase the cost to renew a concealed weapon permit, which requires fresh fingerprints under a recent state law, to $68. The changes are expected to generate about $2,395 annually.
The office will also charge more for copies of autopsies, toxicology and coroner’s reports. The cost of those reports will increase from $17 to $28 each, but one free copy will still be provided to a decedent’s next of kin. The fee for copies of X-rays will increase from $55 to $60. Those increases are expected to generate an additional $4,069 annually, according to a staff report.
Library
The Yolo County Library will increase fees for the digital reproduction of historical materials from $4 per image to $5 and for printed copies from $4.25 to $5.25 per page. The change is expected to generate an additional $500 annually.
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General Services Department
The county’s General Services Department created a new rental rate for baseball fields, charging $40 per hour for rentals that do not require field preparation services.
County Counsel
The County Counsel’s Office, which advises county agencies on legal matters and represents them in civil court, will increase the hourly rate it charges the roughly two dozen outside agencies it serves, including fire and cemetery districts, the Yolo Habitat Conservancy and the Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District. Rates will increase from $200 per hour to $230, generating an estimated $280,000 in additional annual revenue, according to a staff report.
Waste Management
The waste management division will introduce three new fees. The first is a $15 out-of-county household hazardous waste fee for non-Yolo County residents, expected to generate about $750 annually. The second is a $143 fee for loads in excess of 80,000 pounds, which the county estimates will generate more than $100,000 per year. The third is a $23 administrative fee for haulers who need substantial employee assistance with a receipt or manifest.
The waste management division will also revise 17 fees for use of the county’s central landfill. Five fees related to carpet recycling will be reduced slightly as part of a pilot program aimed at increasing carpet recycling. Fees to dispose of tires, solar panels, concrete and several types of liquid waste will be increased, as will the cleanup fee for county labor and the fee for a certificate of destruction. The waste disposal changes are expected to generate $171,379 annually.
Building Division
The Building Division made more than 100 changes to its fee schedule. The division eliminated 14 fees, revised 40 existing fees and added about 60 new ones. The new fees are intended to align county policy with an industry-wide shift from valuation-based costs to those calculated using objective measurements.
The fee for creating a new county address will increase from $134 to $496.72. The county’s flood zone determination fee will increase from $33 per 15 minutes of staff time to $283.63 per permit.
The division modestly increased several other fees that either underestimated the amount of time county staff spent on an inspection or permit or underestimated the payroll cost for that employee’s time. Several fees related to solar installation were eliminated to comply with state law. The division also created new hourly rates for building officials, permit technicians and inspectors.
County staff recommended delaying some fees related to single-family homes, including replacing roofs, windows and air conditioners. The fees were some of the most substantial increases the board considered, but they would have had a significant impact on rural county residents making critical improvements to their homes. Those fees will be further studied before being resubmitted to the board.
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