The Prescott City Council on May 27 adopted resolution 2025-1928, approving a consolidated citywide fee schedule for fiscal year 2025–26. The resolution uses a U.S. average CPI (December) of 2.9% for several department fee escalations and sets an implementation date of July 1 to align with the new fiscal year.

Why it matters: Consolidating city fees into a single adopted schedule increases transparency and administrative consistency, and the adopted changes will affect customers of airport, community development, parks/recreation, fire, police and library services. Staff also scheduled a targeted fee study for community development, public works and the fire department in FY26 to evaluate cost recovery and market alignment.

Key changes and timing: Staff said the fee schedule excludes fees subject to separate rate studies such as utility rates and solid waste. The next planned increase for water and wastewater rates was noted as January 1, 2026. Airport hangar fees will move to a tiered methodology, with commercial users assessed a premium; the airport director said that reflects higher intensity of use and demand. Recreation parking at city lakes is proposed to increase from $3 to $5 per day (matching Prescott National Forest), with passes and annual options retained.

Fire and cost recovery: The fire department presented modest CPI-based increases and a plan to undertake a comprehensive fee/recovery study in FY26; staff said fire fees had not been adjusted in roughly a decade and that recent staffing changes restored capacity to perform fee analysis.

Vote and next steps: Council voted 7-0 to adopt the resolution; staff will implement fee changes July 1 and begin the FY26 fee study to revisit recovery levels in targeted departments.