November 28, 2023
Police Department
DATE: November 28, 2023
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Bisa French, Chief of Police
Subject:
County Amendment to the Agreement for City of
Richmond Animal Services
FINANCIAL IMPACT: None
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
July 19, 2022
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
The Animal Services Agreement issued by the County
included a clerical error that stated the unincorporated portion of the county would be included in the annual
payment calculation; however, the formula example
remains unchanged since it did not capture the
unincorporated population.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
APPROVE and ACCEPT the Contra Costa Animal
Services revisions to the agreement originally approved by City Council on July 19, 2022 – Police Department
(Chief Bisa French 510-621-1802).
DISCUSSION:
Upon noticing an error that described the formula to be used when calculating each city’s contribution, Beth Ward, County Director of Animal Services, sent a letter explaining a clerical error made to Section 13.a.iii of the executed agreement. Ms.
Ward’s letter states:
AGENDA
REPORT
November 28, 2023
“[…] the population used to calculate the per-capita rate would include both the cities for which the County provides animal services and the unincorporated population. That needs to be corrected because it should only reflect the incorporated populations of the cities and towns we contract with, not the unincorporated areas. To correct this, section 13.a.iii of the Agreement must be amended to remove the clause ‘…of the unincorporated area plus the…,’ as indicated below:
13. Annual Fee a. In consideration for Services provided by the County to the City, and in addition to any fees and fines imposed on City residents, the City agrees to pay to the county the following amounts (“Annual Fee”):
… iii. For each fiscal year thereafter, the per capita rate for the Annual Fee shall be calculated using the following formula: (A) the County’s budgeted cost to provide Animal Services throughout the County in that fiscal year, minus the sum of animal licensing fees and user fees projected to be received from all County residents in that fiscal year, minus the budgeted County general fund contribution for that fiscal year, divided by (B) the sum of the population of the unincorporated area plus the population of all cities for which the County provides Animal Services. For example, if the budgeted cost to provide Animal Services throughout the County is $12,640,000, the animal licensing and user fees projected to be received are $1,620,000, the budgeted general fund contribution is $4,112,000, and the population is 866,583, then the per capita Annual Fee would be $7.97 per capita [($12,640,000 - $1,620,000 - $4,112,000) / 866,583]. For a City with a population of 100,000, the total Annual Fee would be $797,000.
While the example below the deleted excerpt in the Agreement reflects the correct formula, the narrative does not accurately capture the fee structure as devised in the County’s strategic planning process and what had been previously communicated during meetings between City officials and Animal Services. I have attached an amendment that corrects this error—i.e., removes the erroneous highlighted section to match the formula and what was agreed upon between the City and County. The City of Richmond will thus need to process this amendment with their City Council to correct this section in the City-County Animal Services Agreement.”
Police Department staff are requesting that City Council approve this agreement in its amended state to omit the “unincorporated” populations when determining the city’s responsibilities for payment.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Letter from Beth Ward
Attachment 2 – Amendment to the Agreement
Attachment 3 – Original Agreement