Latest News, Yreka

Yreka Council Adopts New Shiny Higher Fees

Report on Yreka City Council meeting 16 Aug

BY LORENZO LOVE



Approved a Letter of Support for a County Housing Shelter.


Motion to approve the letter of support for a County Housing Shelter and authorizing the Mayor to speak on behalf of the City Council at the Siskiyou County Board of

Supervisors meeting in support of a shelter facility.


This is a 32 bed low barrier shelter. Lot of people were there for this. It had pretty much full support except for a few people who were ready to scream 'NOT IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD' without even knowing where it will be. The location was not disclosed, to protect the property owner and waiting for the contract and grant to be completed. All they will say is it's in a commercial area, not near homes. I think 'near' is the key word there. Where ever it will be, it's better than where the homeless are now. This is not a city project. The funding all comes from county and state grants. This was just a letter of support. It's a good first start. The only problem with this is that this is only 32 beds. The last homeless count was 321. That's likely a serious undercount. And this doesn't get anyone into permanent homes. Several people there said we need more housing. That's obvious. The only long term cure to homelessness is homes. Too many people want to do everything for the unhoused except provide houses.

Adopted an Updated Comprehensive Fee Schedule

Pretty much anything you do in Yreka requires a fee. These are the new shiny higher fees. Councilmembers Baird and Smith Freeman expressed concern about the sharp increase in fees. Sticker shock was a term used. Examples: Boundary Line Adjustment Fee, $4,661.20. Sign Permit, $314.61. That's just the city fees on top of the actual cost.


See all the rest in the agenda http://www.ci.yreka.ca.us/AgendaCenter.


Large corporations have no problem paying the increased rates. But for local mom and pop businesses, it can mean success or failure. I talked to them about the dog licenses. They are going up from $30/year for altered dogs to $40 next year then $2 a year until it's $50/year for altered dogs in 2027. Double for unaltered dogs. That's $100 for an unaltered dog. Compliance with dog licenses is pretty low anyway.


The Planning Director claims that there is 80% compliance with dog licenses, including in the homeless community. That sounds… unlikely. This money funds animal control. But once it goes up to $100, what's that going to do to compliance? Too high fees can reduce revenue.


And if you have a chicken there is an annual animal livestock license. $234.45. For a chicken.

There should be a workshop on 31 Aug 1:00 PM to discuss this.


There was more. You should have been there.



Comments are closed.