Budget officials recommended hiking it to $13,538 — an amount they say would completely recover city costs. L.A. has been reexamining many fees: City lawmakers have urged the Planning Department to charge enough to recoup its costs and avoid dipping deeper into the city general fund, which covers police patrols and other city services. “We just want to make sure from a budgetary perspective that we’re whole,” said Planning Department chief management analyst Jason Killeen. City officials say that since then, costs for city planners and clerks have surged more than 70%. Charging $271 would cover only 2% of the city costs tied to such challenges, according to the city.

Source: Los Angeles Times August 29, 2017 10:02 UTC