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Attachment A Rental Housing Code Staff Report – April 18, 2012 The HPB committee providing preliminary recommendations to the Board were: J. Norton Cabell, Chair Eric Hall, Architect and Rental Owner Virginia Thompson, HPB member Dennis Casady, Rental Owner Jenna Fribley, HPB member Debra Imse, Executive Director, Metro Multifamily Housing Assoc. RENTAL OWNERS REVIEW A committee of the Lane County Rental Owners Association (ROA) provided their goal for the administration of the code to staff as well as a list of problems and modifications they identified. A number of their proposed modifications align with those of the HPB. Both Eric Hall and Dennis Casady of the ROA also participated on the HPB committee and were able to bring forward the work of the ROA. Individuals involved in the ROA discussion that led to the presentation to staff were: Eric Hall Crystal Buel McIntire Dennis Cassady Scott Sanders Paul Cauthorne Scott Smith Dennis Chappa Michael Steffen Patrick Costello Jami Sterling-Counard Devin Gates Jim Straub FUNDING The Rental Housing Code program was created with the understanding that it would be independent of the General Fund. As a result, a billing system was developed to collect the fees that fund the program. The backbone of the system is a data base of Eugene rental units. There are currently over 29,000 units of rental housing in Eugene resulting in approximately $290,000 in revenue annually. The $10 annual unit fee was set in 2005 and has remained unchanged. The fee is set administratively and does not need Council action to make adjustments but the ordinance currently requires an annual fee. The $10 fee initially generated funds in excess of the cost to administer the code resulting in a fund surplus. Expenses have risen since 2005 and will exceed revenues in fiscal year 2013 if there were no changes to the program. Of course, included in the report are a number of recommendations to explore that are intended to reduce expenses. Bills for registered dwellings are sent out around September of each year. If payment is not received within 30 days a second bill is sent; allowing 60 days prior to imposing a $20 late fee per account. The addition of a late fee occurs on a 30 day cycle until the account with the cumulative late penalties is forwarded for collections at the close of each fiscal year. There were approximately 120 accounts flagged for collections for fiscal year 2011. 13 | Page