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
Department Health Services Fees Ordinance - Sonoma County Animal Services - 2nd Reading
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 July 1, 2024, for the Sonoma County Department of Health Services, Sonoma County Animal Services.”
end
Executive Summary:
On March 26, 2024, 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 July 1, 2024. 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 July 1, 2024 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 (Attachment 1).
Discussion:
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. The SCAS 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. In addition, four new fees have been included in the recommended fees and charges schedule to recover costs and process deposits, descriptions are listed below and listed in Attachment 2.
In 2023 and 2024, the Department engaged Wohlford Consulting to conduct an objective analysis of the full costs incurred by SCAS and associated fees to determine proposed FY 2024-2025 fees. The studies reviewed annual volumes of each fee, the amount of time spent by staff on each fee activity and the annual costs of each staff member and the unit’s overhead costs.
Fee increases are mostly changing by 6% reflecting costs of service delivery. FY 2023-2024 fees were recently adopted by the Board of Supervisors and City of Santa Rosa Council on October 1, 2023, and December 1, 2023, respectively. SCAS has created four new fees to reflect state spay/neuter laws and associated cost recovery for trapping rented equipment. Revenue estimates including proposed fee changes will result in $1,056,810 in projected revenues, which is a decrease of $78,027 over FY 2023-2024 fee estimates, partially due to a decrease in boarding fees. In addition, some of the decrease is due to fluctuation in annual workload updates. The updated fees still align with the Board’s Financial Policy associated with charges for services which looks to achieve full cost recovery within the limits of SCAS policy goals with respect to equity and critical animal services and includes the noted adjustments above. All fee changes comply with Proposition 26 requirements.
While the estimated revenue at full cost recovery is $2,325,163, the proposed fees will not recover all the costs incurred by the SCAS. Based on the information from the 2023 and 2024 fee studies, cost recovery is weighed against what our constituents can afford and what our 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. In addition, some costs are nonrecoverable, such as the time spent by Animal Control Officers in patrolling the county and checking on compliance with the code in public spaces.
The September 2023 Board established ongoing subsidy for SCAS in the amount of $287,901. SCAS will not be requesting additional subsidy for FY 2024-2025. This helps to offset unrecoverable costs, such as:
• Animal Control Officer patrol, investigation, report-writing, and travel times;
• Animal Control Officer assistance to other agencies, such as the Sherriff’s Office and Regional Parks during arrests and clearing of the Joe Rodota Trail;
• Veterinary care, vaccinations, microchipping and boarding of unclaimed animals;
• Providing care to animals owned by people that are:
o experiencing homelessness,
o behavioral health clients, or
o hospitalized; and
• Losses from uncollected fees.
New Fees in 2024:
Four new fees have been added to recover costs and process deposits:
• Spay/Neuter deposit of $40 has been added for owners picking up their unaltered cats that came to the shelter as strays. This deposit will be forfeited if proof of the spay/neuter is not provided within 30 days of the cat leaving our shelter.
• Trap rental processing fee of $15 has been added to include checking out/in the traps, providing instruction on how to use the traps, and cleaning returned traps.
• Trap deposits for Small Traps of $100, deposit will be forfeited if the traps are not returned within 30 days. These funds will go towards the purchase of replacing the equipment.
• Trap deposits for Large Traps of $500, deposit will be forfeited if the traps are not returned within 30 days. These funds will go towards the purchase of replacing the equipment.
Strategic Plan:
N/A
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
On March 26, 2024, 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, 2024, for the Sonoma County Department of Health Services, Sonoma County Animal Services”; and 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 July 1, 2024.
On August 15, 2023 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 October 1, 2023 for Department of Health Services, Sonoma County Animal Services.”
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 (ratified by the Board on 09/12/23).
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY23-24 Adopted |
FY24-25 Projected |
FY25-26 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
|
$272,196 |
$272,196 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
|
$272,196 |
$272,196 |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
|
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
|
$272,196 |
$272,196 |
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
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General Fund Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
|
$272,196 |
$272,196 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The fee adjustments included in this item are estimated to net to $272,196 in additional revenue. Total forecasted revenues for SCAS of $1,056,810 will be included in the recommended FY 2024-2025 budget.
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Staffing Impacts: |
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Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
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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
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
Sonoma County Animal Services Fee Study