City Council Approves New Marina Fees Effective at Beginning of 2026

Significant increases are designed to bring Martinez Marina in line with "regional peers"; fiscal year budget update details $1.5 million in ongoing cuts to close deficit

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By Tom Lochner

The Martinez City Council last week approved a new fee schedule for the Martinez Marina, a crucial step toward reducing its dependency on subsidies from the General Fund.

The schedule, adopted by the council on Nov. 19, raises mooring, utility and liveaboard fees starting in the coming new year.

The increases will bring the Martinez Marina in line with its “regional peers” – marinas in Benicia, Vallejo, Pittsburg and Antioch – according to a staff report accompanying the agenda item.

The mooring fee will go up by 40.69%, equivalent to the 10-year cumulative increase in the Bay Area Consumer Price Index from 2014 to 2025, with an additional $5 per month water charge per vessel.

The increase will be phased in over two years by a “50/50” formula – half next year, half in 2027 – to soften the impact on boaters. The 50/50 option had been recommended by the council’s Marina subcommittee consisting of Jay Howard and Debbie McKillop. The city staff had previously presented two options: direct CPI adjustment, that is, the full increase, as of Jan. 1, 2026; or a phased adjustment of 75% of the increase starting Jan. 1, 2026, and 25% starting Jan. 1, 2027.

Utility fees for gas and electricity will double, from the current $5 a month to $10 a month next year for 20-foot slips; on the larger end, 45-foot slips, currently $15 a month, will go to $30 a month.

Liveaboard fees – surcharges for permission to remain on a vessel beyond the 72-hour non-liveaboard restriction – will increase from the current $200 a month to $275 – in line with Vallejo’s, which is at the lower range of Martinez’s regional peers, according to the staff report.

The increases will bring the Martinez Marina in line with the other four regional marinas, according to the staff report. A fee comparison list for the five marinas is at Attachment__A___Marina_Market_Analysis_Comparison.pdf .

During a PowerPoint presentation preceding discussion and vote on the item, Community and Economic Development Director Jill Bergman noted that much has been accomplished since the arrival of F3 Marina, the firm that came onboard at the beginning of this year as manager of the Martinez Marina. Those accomplishments include improvements such as lighting, painting, dock and utility repairs, landscaping, security and waste management.

Since fiscal 2021-22, the city has used $2 million in General Fund reserves on the marina, including $419,902 in loans, according to the staff report. An additional $560,000 loan to the Marina Enterprise Fund from General Fund reserves is included in the 2025-26 fiscal year budget, according to the staff report. Many city officials have characterized the marina’s dependence on loans and subsidies as unsustainable.

Without the increases approved by the council, the city was facing an ongoing, $650,000-a-year Marina subsidy, according to the staff report.

The city, meanwhile, is in discussions with a San Diego developer over a commercial development that could include hotels, stores, a restaurant, recreational facilities and an amphitheater, amid calls from some officials and members of the public to hammer out a public-private partnership arrangement that would stanch the marina’s financial drain on the city. A closed session preceding the Nov. 19 regular Council meeting included real property negotiations between top city officials on one side, and Tucker Sadler Architects of San Diego and Safe Harbor Marinas on the other. Subject: “Exclusive Negotiation Agreement Price and Terms.” There was no report after the closed session other than that guidance was provided to staff.

During the public comments preceding the council’s vote to approve the amended fee schedule, commenter Kevin Bacon said the city is conflating operating expenses and capital expenses; the former, he said, are close to breakeven. He cited dredging as an example of projects that he said should be categorized as capital rather than operating expenses.

Another commenter, a Pacific Grove resident who grew up in Martinez and keeps a boat at the Marina, said the big difference between the Martinez Marina and other regional marinas is, “my boat is in the mud twice a day.” He said he is personally OK with a 40% increase but that the lesson should be that a 2%, 3%, 4% or 5% increase every year is preferable to a 40% increase after 10 years.

Earlier in the Nov. 19 meeting, city staff officials provided a Fiscal Year 2025-26 financial update of the current fiscal year’s General Fund budget as well as a status report on Capital Improvement Projects recently completed and currently underway. The report covers the period of July 1 through Oct. 31, Assistant City Manager Lauren Sugayan noted. A mid-year review will come up in February. She cited “Financial Sustainability” as Goal A of the city’s Strategic Plan Alignment.

Cost drivers, according to the accompanying PowerPoint presentation, include increased insurance costs; increased labor expenses due to Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) and step/merit increases; rising pension and retiree health costs; and General Fund support for the Marina’s operating deficit and debt service. Revenues, meanwhile, are being impacted by economic uncertainty and resulting underperforming sales taxes; reduced permit and inspection revenues; lower interest income; and lower-than-expected franchise fees. The result of the combination of cost and revenue drivers is a starting deficit of $1.5 million.

The 2025-26 budget budget reflects $1.5 million in cuts to close that gap. “Every single department submitted budget cuts,” Sugayan said. She added, “These are ongoing budget cuts that will have to remain … until we find more revenue.” Maintaining core services was the main objective. Savings were achieved in supplies, training and meeting costs; reductions in part-time staff and consultants, and delays in filling vacant full-time positions; giving up an emergency services contract under the police department; elimination of private security at the Homeless Showers; and reducing maintenance funding. Meanwhile the City Manager contingency budget was increased by $58,000, to $130,000, to provide some “wiggle room” for unexpected matters; only $2,500 of that contingency budget has been spent so far, Sugayan added later.

General Fund expenditures are on track – “We don’t see any red flags,” Sugayan said. Operating expenses are consistent with the budget; there has been no impact to core services; and, unlike during other quarters, there have been no major emergencies, Sugayan said, although she cautioned that unforeseen expenses commonly occur during the inclement weather season, which is coming up. All in all, “Everything is looking very good.”

On the revenue side, sales and transaction use taxes are on track. Permit fees are ahead of target, some due to increased refinery activities and building and housing permit applications, notably at Riverhouse apartments. Ninety-four more building permits were issued this year than during the same time frame last year, Sugayan said.

Discussion of a waterfront stage project in association with the Kiwanis Club, envisioned as part of a waterfront revitalization project, is on hold for the time being, Sugayan said near the end of her presentation.

A General Fund update is at Attachment_A_-_General_Fund_Update.pdf .

Turning to the Capital Improvement Program, Public Works Director Joe Enke noted that some 18 projects have been completed, most notably the fishing pier and a fire hydrant maintenance project that involved nearly 1,000 hydrants citywide. Sidewalk gaps have been closed; City Hall improvements have been completed, including roof replacement.

Some six projects are in construction, including a downtown paving project with only about four days of striping still to be completed. Another water main project is about to begin, as is a pump station project.

Paving work has begun on Parking Lot #4 (which is on part of a block bordered by Escobar and Ferry streets, Marina Vista Avenue and the Contra Costa Community College District office) and could be completed by Thanksgiving, weather permitting. The Escobar Street Parking Lot Project will add 13 parking spaces to the downtown core.

A street tree project involving planting some 150 trees could be completed as early as the end of the year, Enke said.

Some 18 additional projects are in the design phase, including an elevator at the Amtrak station, according to the accompanying PowerPoint.

A Capital Improvement Project Update is at Attachment_B_-_Capital_Improvement_Program_Update.pdf

Presentations at the beginning of the Nov. 19 meeting included a Sikh Awareness & Appreciation Month Proclamation presented by Councilman Satinder S. Malhi; Martinez Police promotions and ceremonial swearing-in; and the Chamber of Commerce’s naming of the California Magic Club as its November Business of the Month.

A fourth and final presentation focused on nature’s call – more specifically, the “Throne,” a “smart restroom” installed by Throne Labs in the Downtown Plaza. More information about the device and how it works is at Throne: The Smart, Delightful Public Restroom .