"Business" of User Fees - US Fire Administration - Federal ...

17There are many other miscellaneous fees that fire departments are charging as away to supplement revenue. Fees for such things as document preparation; traininginstruction, facility rental, and special event standby are all ways to increase revenue forservices provided that are more than the basic call to 911.User Fee BenefitsThe obvious reason for implementing user fees is to generate additional revenuefor the department. Fees are a way to bring in revenue without increasing taxes. Foryears the fire service has been thought of as a drain on local government financesinstead of being a revenue generator. Berman (1997) found that “The funds adepartment “earns” makes it less dependent on the general revenue fund, which helpsto insulate if from the scrutiny of politicians” (p.72). Tax limitation and budget shortfallswill continue to make fee collection even more important.Another prime reason for developing user fees is fairness and equity. While alltaxpayers support the basic services, user fees allow the actual user to pay for anyspecial services. According to Starling (1998), user fees fall under the “benefitsreceived principle” where the principle attempts to apply a free-market approach to thedistribution of taxes. . .user fees for government goods force individuals to reveal theirwillingness to pay for these goods.An important reason for user fees is to gain compliance and change behavior. Infire prevention, compliance in the inspection program can be gained quicker if thedepartment charges for re-inspections. Wenke (1995) points out that fees “discouragecontractors and businesses from taking fire inspectors’ time for granted, and toencourage speedy compliance” (p. 16). Oak Brook, Illinois found that after they