Council Report - Code Compliance

Fees and Charges Report 
Date:  
 March 5, 2026 
To: 
 
Audit, Finance, and Enterprise Committee  
Through: 
Ken Cost, Assistant City Manager 
 
From:  
Angelica Guevara, Code Compliance Director 
 
 
Susan Lu, Fiscal Analyst, Development Services Department 
Subject: 
Code Compliance Department Update to Schedule of Fees and Charges 
 
Purpose and Recommendation 
The purpose of this report is to recommend changes to the Schedule of Fees and Charges 
for the Code Compliance Department. The Department recommends an increase  to the 
Administrative Lien Fee and proposes new fees which include the creation of a Civil 
Citation Fine for  Non-Residential Properties, a new Title Search Fee and a new Certified 
Mail Fee. The proposed changes to the fees and fines, if approved by City Council, would 
be effective August 1, 2026.  
Background 
Fees are reviewed regularly to ensure description clarity and that costs accurately reflect 
services provided. The last update to the Civil Violation Fines was approved by Council 
in 2019. 
Discussion 
The Code Compliance Department is proposing the following changes to the Schedule of 
Fees and Charges: 
1. Increase Administrative Lien Fee from $20.00 to $60.00 to match the Maricopa 
County Recorder’s Fee. 
The Code Compliance staff works with the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office to 
record liens on properties for unpaid fees and fines. The current fee collected is 
$20.00; this proposal increases the fee to $60.00 to include the $30.00 fee 
assessed by the County to place and release a lien. 
2. Create a new category of Civil Citation Fines for Non-Residential Properties. 
Existing civil citation fines and fees are currently the same for all properties

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regardless of use, with fines escalating with each citation issued when violations 
are allowed to persist. The proposed higher citation fines would only be applied to 
non-residential use properties. Typically, non-residential use properties are leased 
or occupied by businesses that generate profit for the property owner from Mesa 
residents and visitors. The higher fines are intended to help encourage property 
owners to keep their properties in compliance with City Codes.  Properties that 
earn revenue from our residents should be held to a higher standard and assessed 
higher penalties. 
Proposed fines for non-residential properties: 
Fine assessed for 1st Civil Violation on a non-residential property: 
$750.00 - $1,500.00 per violation* 
 
Continued 2nd finding of a prior violation on a non-residential property:  
$1,250.00 - $2,000.00 per violation* 
 
Continued 3rd finding of a prior violation on a non-residential property: 
$1,750.00 - $2,500.00 per violation* 
 
*Civil Hearing Officer has the ability by ordinance to reduce fees and fines; 
typically, minimum fees and fines are assessed especially when violations 
are abated 
 
3. Create a new Title Search Fee 
There are properties where the City is unable to locate the property owner or 
responsible party. Often, this is due to the owner being deceased. At these 
properties, violations are multiple and the violations are often ongoing and exist for 
extended periods of time creating a burden and eyesore for the neighborhood. In 
these cases, the establishment of the $650 title search fee would allow the use of 
a title company to help find the party responsible for the property. The title search 
fee would only be assessed after all internal search abilities are exhausted without 
success.   
4. Create a new Certified Mail Fee 
 
Typically, citations are personally served by code compliance officers unless the 
property owner is not located in the valley, if that is the case, then a private process 
server is used to personally serve the citation. After a code officer attempt to serve 
a citation without success, the civil hearing officer can authorize the use of the US 
Post Office certified mail to serve the citation. The Code Compliance Office is 
currently absorbing the cost of certified mail fees. The $15 fee would allow us to 
recover the cost associated with sending the citation through certified mail.  
Methodology 
The Code Compliance Department is funded by the General Fund and is not a fully cost

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recovery department. Fines and fees collected are deposited into the General Fund. Fees 
and fines are imposed as penalties for non-compliance with City Codes. The fines 
accumulate if violations are allowed to persist. Consequences can also escalate to legal 
action in the form of criminal charges against a property owner or responsible party if 
compliance is not achieved. Non-compliance negatively affects our community, affecting 
safety, health, and property values.   
Alternatives 
Alternative to the recommended fee and fine increases and additions could include no 
changes which would require the Code Compliance Department to continue to absorb the 
costs of providing specific services covered by the proposed fees.  
Fiscal Impact 
Based on current administrative liens recorded and released, the estimated revenue 
recapture with the increased administrative lien fee is estimated at $4,500 per fiscal year. 
Based on the current number of citations issued, the increase to the civil citation fines for 
non-residential properties is estimated to generate approximately $150,000 per fiscal 
year. 
Based on the anticipated number of title searches to performed, the estimated revenue 
is $6,500 per fiscal year. 
Based on the current number of certified mailings sent, the estimated revenue is 
anticipated to be approximately $5,000 per fiscal year. 
The total estimated FY 2026/27 fiscal impact for the Code Compliance Department is 
estimated at $166,000.

Fees & Charges Schedule – Key 
 
 
 
 
 
Heading Configuration 
Schedule of Fees & 
Charges  
Department 
Contact Information 
HEADING 1 
HEADING 2 
Heading 3 
Description of Fee 
   Description of Fee 2 
 
 
 
Font Indications 
Font  
Font Indications 
Regular Font 
Existing fee or language 
Strikethrough  
Fee or language will be deleted 
from the Fee Schedule 
BOLD CAPS 
Language is being added to Fee 
Schedule 
Bold 
New or increased Fee Amount

Schedule of Fees & Charges 
Exhibit A – Code Compliance Department 
Department: Code Compliance 
Description of Service 
Current 
Fee Range 
Proposed 
Fee Range 
Unit 
Total Fiscal Impact 
Notes 
RE-INSPECTION FEES  
 
 
 
$0 Move from Development 
Services Department 
 NON-COMPLIANCE FEE 
  Fee assessed upon the second 
inspection if the violation 
remains 
$200.00 
 
 
$0 Move from Development 
Services Department 
 CONTINUED NON-
COMPLIANCE FEE 
  Fee assessed after a citation is 
issued for each inspection 
where the violation still remains 
$100.00 
 
 
$0 Move from Development 
Services Department 
COMPLIANCE AGREEMENT 
FEE 
  When complex circumstances 
make achieving compliance 
time-consuming, a compliance 
agreement can be entered into 
to establish the required 
actions and timeline 
$150.00 
 
Per 
Agreement 
$0 Move from Development 
Services Department. Revised 
language to clarify intent. 
RESIDENTIAL CIVIL VIOLATION 
FINES* 
 
 
 
 Create a new category of civil 
violations (residential vs non-
residential) 
  FINE ASSESSED FOR 1st 
CIVIL VIOLATION 
$250.00-
$1,500.00 
 
PER 
VIOLATION 
$0 Move from Development 
Services Department 
  CONTINUED 2ND FINDING OF A 
PRIOR VIOLATION 
$350.00-
$2,500.00 
$350.00-
$2,000.00 
PER 
VIOLATION 
$0 Move from Development 
Services Department, Decrease 
max to $2,000 to match non-
residential 
  CONTINUED 3RD FINDING OF A  
PRIOR VIOLATION 
$500.00-
$2,500.00 
 
PER 
VIOLATION 
$0 Move from Development 
Services Department

NON-RESIDENTIAL CIVIL 
VIOLATION FINES* 
 
 
PER 
VIOLATION 
 Create new civil violation 
category to differentiate between 
residential and non-Residential 
properties 
  FINE ASSESSED FOR 1st  
CIVIL VIOLATION 
 
$750.00-
$1,500.00 
PER 
VIOLATION 
$130,000.00 Create new fine range for Non-
Residential civil violations 
  CONTINUED 2ND FINDING OF 
PRIOR VIOLATION 
 
$1,250.00-
$2,000.00 
PER 
VIOLATION 
$10,000.00 Create new fine range for Non-
Residential civil violations 
  CONTINUED 3RD FINDING OF 
PRIOR VIOLATION 
 
$1,750.00-
$2,500.00 
PER 
VIOLATION 
$10,000.00 Create new fine range for Non-
Residential civil violations 
 ADMINISTRATIVE LIEN FEE 
$20.00 
$60 
Lien 
$4,500.00 Increase fee to comply with 
current Maricopa County 
Recorder’s Office fees to place 
and release liens 
TITLE SEARCH FEE 
 
$650.00 
PER CASE 
$6,500.00 Create new fee to recover cost of 
staff research of owners or 
responsible parties’ properties in 
violation of City Code that are 
difficult to locate 
CERTIFIED MAIL FEE 
 
$15 
EACH 
$5,000.00 Create new fee to recover cost of 
certified mail to property owners 
   *INCLUDING PROCESS 
SERVER FEES AND ALL 
OTHER APPLICABLE FEES 
AND CHARGES 
 
 
 
 Footnote to clarify miscellaneous 
fees that makes up Civil Violation 
fee 
 
Estimated Total Annual Fiscal Impact: 
$166,000