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<br />Economic & Planning Systems, Inc. 25 Fiscal Implications of Proposed Ordinance <br />5. Fiscal Implications of Proposed Ordinance <br />This chapter analyzes the fiscal implications of the proposed Ordinance on Redwood <br />City’s budget. The costs include implementation and management of the program as <br />well as potential General Fund cost and revenue impacts stemming from the <br />economic and housing market changes noted in the previous chapter. <br />Program Implementation Costs <br />As part of this study, EPS researched the likely cost of implementing and <br />administering a rent stabilization program in Redwood City based on on-line research, <br />discussions with City staff and case studies. This analysis is designed to provide a <br />rough estimate of the cost of implementing and administering the proposed <br />Ordinance, recognizing that actual costs will depend on a variety of factors, inlcuding <br />specific staffing and enforcement decisions that have yet to be determined. <br />EPS reviewed available financial and staffing information from rent stabilization <br />programs in other California cities and conducted interviews with staff from <br />several peer jurisdictions, including Mountain View, Hayward, Richmond, and <br />Concord. These jurisdictions have rent stabilization programs with varying levels <br />of enforcement, administration, and tenant support services, providing a useful <br />range for estimating potential staffing needs in Redwood City. <br />This research confirmed that rent stabilization programs require dedicated full- <br />time staff, as well as associated equipment, office space, legal support, hearing <br />administration, outreach, and program management. Total costs vary depending <br />on the amount and type of a city’s rental housing stock, the scope of the rent <br />stabilization and tenant protection program, including level of enforcement, <br />complexity of petitions and appeals, and the extent of complementary tenant and <br />landlord support services. Given this variability, EPS developed minimum, average, <br />and maximum staffing scenarios based on staffing ratios from peer jurisdictions. <br />These ratios were informed by Mountain View’s 2021 statewide staffing <br />study 26and interviews conducted by EPS. Jurisdictions that are substantially larger <br />than Redwood City or have a materially leaner rent control program scope were <br />excluded from the staffing scenario calculations. <br />As shown in Table 11, the scenarios range from approximately 0.41 to 1.1 staff <br />per 1,000 rental units, or approximately 7 to 18 staff for Redwood City’s 16,168 <br />rental units. Appendix A Table A-1 provides additional information on the full list <br />of cities studied and their staffing. <br /> <br />26 Mountain View 2021 statewide staffing analysis <br />8.A. - Page 153 of 168 <br />163