Item 09 - Rental Registry Fee Study

Home Browse Search

Pg. 11 CHAPTER II – IDENTIFYING THE COST OF SERVICES City of Santa Ana Rent Stabilization Program Fee – March 2023 Labor and Employee Benefit Costs - The City provided RCS with its Work Plan for the Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance (“Work Plan”), dated January 17, 2023. The Work Plan is attached as Appendix E. The Work Plan outlines the necessary staffing, and the essential job functions and responsibilities for each position needed to implement, administer, monitor, support, and enforce the provisions of the Ordinance. RCS calculated the labor costs based on Santa Ana’s methodology for estimating vacant positions. We calculated the employee benefit costs based on the average fringe benefit percentage of each bargaining group. Operational Services and Supply Expenses - Various contracted services and operating expenses are essential to the Rent Stabilization Program. These include the need for a hearing officer and mediator, rental registry software, education & outreach services, and on-call translation services. Other expenses include insurance, rent and advertising. Overhead Expenses and Administrative Costs - The purpose of deriving overhead costs is to apportion these amounts to direct service program costs. By adopting this method, the City will be aware of its true costs and be able to mirror business methods. Santa Ana administrative agencies (ex. Finance and Management Services, Human Resources, City Attorney’s Office) support other agencies (ex. Community Development Agency, Planning and Building, Police Department) without providing a deliverable service to the public. The City produces and updates its Cost Allocation Plan (“CAP”) annually to determine the overhead cost provided by the administrative agencies. The CAP includes the following citywide functions:  City Manager, City Clerk, City Attorney  Human Resources, Finance and Treasury  Municipal Utility Services, Central Services  City Hall Depreciation, Equipment Use Charge and Other Building Use Charge For this fiscal year, the Community Development Agency was calculated an overhead rate of 15.91% for salaries. Therefore, the Rent Stabilization Program’s general city overhead is $220,124. The Rent Stabilization Program budget includes other administrative costs for insurance, IT maintenance and benefit costs. Startup Costs – The RSP budget includes costs which are one-time and ongoing. For example, the City entered into an Agreement with RSG, Inc. (“RSG”) to assist with program implementation and administration, and it is reasonable to assume the need for these services will lessen as permanent staff is hired. Costs associated with education and outreach, specialized legal services, and on-call translation may continue in future years, based on demand and other factors.