The Ventura County Air Pollution Control District board unanimously adopted a resolution setting the district's service rates and fees for fiscal year 2025'26, applying a 2.7% consumer-price-index adjustment to hourly service rates and maintaining existing duplication charges.

Staff told the board the fee schedule implements state-authorized cost recovery for services required by the federal and California Clean Air Acts. The fiscal-year schedule includes three main categories: service hourly rates (applied to air quality engineers, specialists and instrument technicians), duplication fees and miscellaneous fees. Staff proposed applying a 2.7% CPI adjustment to hourly rates "consistent with statutory limits," and said permit-processing fees will continue to be billed at the service rate in effect when an application is deemed complete.

The board opened a public hearing and staff reported no requests to speak. The board then moved to adopt the resolution; a roll-call vote recorded affirmative votes from Board Members Chavez, Lavere, Lopez, Mendez, Perez and Chair McQueen LeJeune. The resolution passed unanimously and becomes effective Dec. 9.

Key details: duplication fees for Public Records Act requests remain $0.23 per page for requests over nine pages; data-compilation or special-analysis fees outside PRA scope will reflect full staff-cost recovery. Staff invited questions during the presentation but there were none before the hearing was closed.

Next step: The fee schedule will be applied according to staff guidance and the district will continue to bill permit work at the applicable service rate when an application is deemed complete.