To: County of Sonoma Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Department of Health Services
Staff Name and Phone Number: Tina Rivera, 707-565-4774
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Health Services Fees Ordinance
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Adopt an ordinance titled “An Ordinance of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Sonoma, State of California, Adopting New Fees and Adjusting Fees Effective October 1, 2023 for Department of Health Services, Sonoma County Animal Services.”
end
Executive Summary:
On August 1, 2023, at a regular meeting, the Board of Supervisors introduced a proposed ordinance to adopt new fees and adjust existing fees for the Department of Health Services (“DHS” or “the Department”), effective October 1, 2023. The new and amended fees are for services associated with Sonoma County Animal Services (SCAS). This Board item recommends adoption of that ordinance.
The Board of Supervisors is authorized to establish fees to recover the reasonable cost of providing certain services. Fees are imposed for a specific benefit conferred or service provided directly to the payor that is not provided to those not charged, and which does not exceed the reasonable cost to provide the benefit or service. Fees are also imposed for reasonable regulatory costs including enforcement inspections, investigations, and audits.
The Department is requesting an effective date of October 1, 2023 for new and amended fees associated with Sonoma County Animal Services. Adding or revising Sonoma County Animal Services fees requires Board adoption of an ordinance.
Discussion:
Sonoma County Animal Services Fees
Sonoma County Animal Services (SCAS) provides sheltering and field services to areas within their jurisdiction, including unincorporated areas of the County and the City of Santa Rosa. SCAS is also responsible for rabies control for the entire County. SCAS’s service area is comprised of approximately 1,575 square miles with nearly 500,000 residents and includes an animal shelter that serves nearly 2,500 animals annually. The Department is proposing fee revisions for all fees. The Department performs a mix of fee-funded work related to services provided to individuals and public benefit work, such as rabies control, that is not recoverable by fees.
The proposed SCAS fees for fiscal year (FY) 2023-2024 are based on estimated costs and a fee study completed in 2023 by Wohlford Consulting (Attachment 4). The study reviewed annual volumes of each fee, the amount of time spent by staff on each fee activity, the annual cost of each staff member, and the unit’s overhead costs. Hourly rates were developed from this information and used to calculate actual costs and recommended fees.
Changes in fees range from -71% to 981% and generally reflect what it costs Sonoma County Animal Services to deliver each service. Research from neighboring and similar-sized jurisdictions also helped inform the fee rates. While full cost recovery is the goal, it is currently not achievable with community affordability considerations. Fees will be reviewed each year and adjusted accordingly as business costs increase. Labor agreements recently approved by the Board with County staff were taken into consideration in the develop of the fee rates. The following fees have been reduced - dog licensing fees, through our partnership with DocuPet; and vaccination fees, due to contractual cost saving and capturing accurate costs. Fees for potentially dangerous and vicious dog designations have substantially increased to reflect a more accurate consideration of animal control officer time for these cases. The proposed fee schedule (Attachment 2) includes estimated revenue based upon the proposed fees to be $1,134,837 which is $54,071 less than would be received under the current schedule. Projected revenue from dog license fees for altered/unaltered decreased by $282,716 due to the proposed fee reduction from $28.42 to $16 based upon the efficiencies built with contracting with DocuPet collecting license fees, which is only partially offset by increases to other fee revenues.
Fees were set to optimize revenue collection while also advancing Board goals with respect to equity and maintaining the incentives for residents to use animal services and pay fees such as licensing or adoption.
Based on the information from the 2023 fee study, cost recovery is weighed against affordability and what SCAS partners are charging. Maintaining market affordability and encouraging animal owner compliance with applicable laws will supersede full-cost recovery in setting some of the fees proposed. In addition, some costs are nonrecoverable, such as the time spent by Animal Control Officers in patrolling the County and checking on compliance with code in public spaces. This necessitates an adjustment to the subsidy for Animal Services allocated by the Board.
SCAS fees are broken down into five categories Adoptions, Board/Impound, Licensing, Spay/Neuter and Rabies Control. To ensure animals move through the system quickly and reach a positive outcome such as adoption or transfer, roadblocks must be removed and lesser fee amounts must be considered. If fees are not seen as reasonable and affordable, people will not adopt, reclaim their lost pets, or get them spayed/neutered, which would lead to SCAS warehousing animals for extended periods, which would increase costs and decrease positive outcomes for animals and the community. By subsidizing these fees, more animals will be reunited with their owners, find new homes, and SCAS will be able to continue its life-saving work for the community.
For these reasons, the Department recommends that the Board adopts fees that charge less than 100% cost recovery in some areas of work. Lowering fees to encourage adoption, neuter/spaying, and licensing would positively increase public participation in these programs and support SCAS’s goal of shortening stays and getting animals into supportive homes more quickly. SCAS fees request therefore involves a request for ongoing support to subsidize fees in these areas to limit potential harm to the community and maintain the program’s adoption and pet recovery appeal.
The Fee Chart on Attachment 2 was approved by the Board of Supervisors on August 1, 2023 and this Items seeks adoption of the Ordinance to go into effect on October 1, 2023.
Strategic Plan:
N/A
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
On August 1, 2023 the Board A) adopted a resolution reading the title and waiving further reading of a proposed ordinance titled “An Ordinance of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Sonoma, State of California, Adopting New Fees and Adjusting Fees Effective October 1, 2023 for Department of Health Services, Sonoma County Animal Services”; B) adopted a resolution establishing new and amended fees to recover the reasonable cost of providing services associated with Environmental Health and Safety for the Department of Health Services, pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 101325, effective August 1, 2023; C) adopted a personnel resolution adding 2.50 full-time equivalent Environmental Health Specialist II position allocations needed to accommodate Environmental Health and Safety service level requirements to meet professional standards and provide a benefit to the community, effective August 1, 2023; and D) authorized contingency set aside to the fiscal year 2023-2024 adopted budget, programming a total of $173,862 in General Fund Contingencies including $54,071 to support Sonoma County Animal Services, $72,908 to support a reduction in dairy industry permitting fees, and $46,883 to support a reduction in local food industry permitting fees.
On April 19, 2022, the Board adopted an ordinance titled “An Ordinance of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Sonoma, State of California, Adopting New Fees and Adjusting Fees Effective July 1, 2022 for the Sonoma County Department of Health Services Public Health Laboratory and Animal Services.”
On March 22, 2022 the Board A) adopted a resolution reading the title and waiving further reading of a proposed ordinance titled “An Ordinance of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Sonoma, State of California, Adopting New Fees and Adjusting Fees Effective July 1, 2022 for the Sonoma County Department of Health Services Public Health Laboratory and Animal Services” and B) increased the ongoing contribution by $233,830 for Animal Services in Fiscal Year 2022-23 to fees for certain client and animal services determined to have a negative impact to residents and/or the program if fees are increased significantly.
On May 14, 2019, the Board adopted a resolution establishing new and amended fees to recover the reasonable cost of providing services including fees associated with Environmental Health, Public Health Laboratory, and Sonoma County Animal Services for the Department of Health Services effective July 1, 2019.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 23-24 Adopted |
FY 24-25 Projected |
FY 25-26 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$7,175,349 |
|
|
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
$0 |
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$7,175,349 |
0 |
0 |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
$2,810,457 |
|
|
|
State/Federal |
$0 |
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
$4,310,821 |
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
$0 |
|
|
|
Contingencies |
$54,071 |
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$7,175,349 |
0 |
0 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
$7,175,349 is the total expenditures for Animal Services in FY 2023-2024 funded with $1.1 million in fees, $3.1 million from the City of Santa Rosa, $2.8 million from the General Fund, $54,071 of General Fund Contingencies approved on August 1, 2023, and $270,00 in miscellaneous revenue. Fee Increases will be effective FY 2023-2024 on October 1, 2023.
|
Staffing Impacts: |
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|
|
Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
Attachment 1 - Ordinance (SCAS Fees)
Attachment 2 - SCAS Fee Chart
Attachment 3 - Post-Adoption Ordinance Summary
Attachment 4 - Animal Services Fee Study Report
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None