Empowering Communities Through Support
Madera County Poised to Raise Fees by 42%
Madera County Poised to Raise Fees by 42%
There are two sides to the equation...costs and revenues, which must be in balance. The study only calculates the current costs without analyzing the content of those costs. The costs are simply assumed to be accurate, reasonable, and just, but where is the analysis? The consultant says:
"In most cases, the focus was to re-align the fee amount to
match the costs of service. . ."
Are fees too low, or are costs too high?
A consultant's study, claims the County is collecting only 58% of the costs for specified fee services. But, are fees too low, or are costs too high?
The fees include those for specified services (permits, licenses, adjustments, and others) provided by Animal Services, Assessor, Planning, Building and Fire, Environmental, Public Works, and General Plan updates.
A deep dive into the costs must be the first place to look.
We advocate for an overall management and organizational study to look at effectiveness, economy and efficiency. Are there better, less costly ways or organizational structures?
Our requests were developed after the recent articles in the Fresno Bee and Merced Sun Star about potential County bankruptcy and consideration of raising various taxes, or cutting services.
Learn more.
Want to hear more?
Listen in (zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86382268935#success ) to the Supervisors Board meeting December 9, at 10AM to hear our comments.
Or attend in person or via Zoom !
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Tuesday, December 09, 2025
09:00 AM
MEETING LOCATION
Madera County Government Center
200 W. 4th Street
Madera, CA 93637
Meeting ID: 863 8226 8935
9:00 A.M. – Closed Session
10:00 A.M. – Regular Session
10:30 A.M. - Public Hearing
11:00 A.M. - GSA Items
1:30 P.M. - IHSS
Watch Live on Youtube
More details
See the article below:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/madera-county-could-face-bankruptcy-231737370.html
Merced Sun-Star
Erik Galicia
Fri, November 21, 2025 at 3:17 PM PST
Amid rising costs and cooling tourism, a dark financial forecast says Madera County could face bankruptcy without dramatic action, including $7.1 million in cuts and
See the article below:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/madera-county-could-face-bankruptcy-231737370.html
Merced Sun-Star
Erik Galicia
Fri, November 21, 2025 at 3:17 PM PST
Amid rising costs and cooling tourism, a dark financial forecast says Madera County could face bankruptcy without dramatic action, including $7.1 million in cuts and potentially a new sales tax.
The majority of the needed cuts would come from public safety services and could put the county in a place where it has to wrestle with reduced deputy patrols and fire station closures, county officials said during their last board meeting.
“This board will always prioritize public safety services above everything else, but these are all tough conversations to be had,” said District 1 Supervisor Jordan Wamhoff, who is also an officer with the Fresno Police Department.
Final Report for: Countywide User Fee Study October 30, 2025
View Report Here:
https://pub-maderacounty.escribemeetings.com/FileStream.ashx?DocumentId=3345
Don't get overwhelmed!
Pages 1-30 are the most important to understand.
The remaining 87 pages are mostly spread sheets with detailed calcs that build up to the summary tables within the 1st 30 pages.
Note the 3 highlighted parts…
Note the 3 highlighted parts…
They did not study Board established Impact Fees…
They claim that the purpose was to make sure they weren’t overcharging.
and the opportunity to realign fees
Do you think you're not paying enough in fees and taxes for the services you are receiving?
Do you think the board will choose NOT to raise fees?
Let the Board hear from you.
Join the meeting !