1 Stevenson, Garrett
Subject: FW: Comment: OPPOSING agenda item 6 on November 6, 2023 From: Simon Gibbons < >
Sent: Monday, November 6, 2023 3:33 PM
To: PublicComment-AutoResponse <[email protected]> Cc: Felicia Williams
Subject: Comment: OPPOSING agenda item 6 on November 6, 2023 ------------------------ To the City Council
I oppose the approval of item 6, and I strongly recommend that it should be postponed until an audited budget proposal has been produced by the Pasadena Rental Board because of the major and unknown fiscal impact on the City of Pasadena.
The Staff Report on Item 6 makes a statement that could be misleading:
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no immediate fiscal impact associated with the request to prepare an Ordinance to establish a Rent Stabilization Department. It should be noted that the Board intends to return to the City Council with a staffing plan and budget for the Department at a future meeting.
Although there is no fiscal impact from preparing an Ordinance, the impact of passing such an Ordinance is both large and unknownable . The Board has no capability to raise funds through its rental registry as it only received responses to its RFP in October. It is unlikely that an IT project will produce results within the 2024 budget period, so the Board will be entirely reliant on City funding during that time. Furthermore, the Board’s existence remains subject to legal challenge, including the ongoing case by the California Apartment Association, in which case there may never be a registry to refund the City’s expenditure.
Bearing mind that the Board has failed to provide an accounting of its existing spending, that its no-bid contracts have failed to produce meaningful results, and that there no sign of a budget, I strongly recommend that the City Council delay this decision until a full, audited budget and staffing plan has been produced.
Regards from a Pasadena resident, voter, and housing provider.
Simon Gibbons (he, him)
Finance Officer
BT Shepherd LLC
Pasadena CA 91107
11/06/2023
Item 6
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