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Regular City Council Meeting Monday,November 13, 2017 Page 8 Mayor Roe thanked Finance Director Miller for including staff's worksheet used for each utility in calculating base fees and graph presentations. At the request of Councilmember McGehee, Finance Director Miller addressed why staff had not included the City of Maplewood in its comparison review of first-ring suburbs serving 18,000 to 50,000 with similarly aged infrastructure (page 7), advising that their entire system, including infrastructure, was now owned by the City of St. Paul and therefore was not comparable with other peer communities listed in how they funded their operations and infrastructure needs. In reviewing the graphs, Mayor Roe observed that graphs trending indicated tran- sitioning of base rates had resulted in now seeing average flat or minimal increas- es in line with inflation. Mayor Roe pointed out that it was important to note that the fairly substantial change made several years ago to these utility funds had now provided a relatively steady structure and had accomplished the goal set out at that time, keeping the city's word that the rates would only increase now to cover changes in costs. C. Consider Changes to City Code, Chapter 314.05 (2018 Fee Schedule) Finance Director Miller briefly reviewed those minimal changes to the proposed 2018 fee schedule, as detailed in lines 12 -25 of the RCA for adjustments to exist- ing fees and establishment of new fees. Mr. Miller advised that he would defer to individual departments for any questions of the City Council, with the schedule brought back for formal action at a later date this year. Page 9, Building Permits Councilmember Willmus noted the fairly large jumps in some of these fees as they related to engineering inspections. Public Works Director Marc Culver advised that some increased substantially while others less so; with last year's analysis proving the amount of staff time ac- tually spent for review and inspections, and adjustments made accordingly. Mr. Culver reported that his department spent an average of 20-30 minutes for each review and component checklists as applicable for a total spent of approximately $13,000 last year, with approximately$12,000 in revenue; thus the adjustments as presented. Page 14, Roof Permits Councilmember Willmus noted the increase in residential roof permit fees from $102 to $140. Codes Coordinator Dave Englund responded that there should have been addi- tional language included to indicate "Flat" in place of the previous "Minimum" comment. Mr. Englund advised that this flat fee was being proposed based on