HomeMy WebLinkAboutCosts and Impacts of Rental HousingCITY AUDITOR 345 6"' Street, Suite 600, Bremerton, WA 98337-1873 & Phone (360) 473-5369
January 30, 2013
Bremerton City Council
You requested that I conduct a study of the costs and impacts of rental housing. Attached
is my report. This has been a long and challenging project. I would be pleased to discuss
this report with you.
The assistance of David Buffington of the Department of Information Technology was a
significant element in gathering and analyzing the data. The Records Division of the
Bremerton Police Department also assisted in providing call data. The assistance of all of
these staff members is greatly appreciated.
Sirpc-erely,
Gary W. Nystul .
cc: Mayor Patty Lent
Fire Chief Al Duke
Police Chief Craig Rogers
City Attorney Roger Lubovich
Director of Financial Services Becky Hasart
R:1Gity Auditoffiremerton Rentals\Report transmittal Itr.docx
THE COST OF PROVIDING CITY SERVICES TO
RESIDENTIAL UNITS
PURPOSE
The Bremerton City Council requested that the City Auditor study the costs and
impacts of rental housing and to issue a report. This report is in response to that
request.
SCOPE
The number of police calls for services, fire department calls for service, and code
complaints for the calendar year 2011 were used. The county property records as
of April 2012 were used to establish the listing of residential dwelling units in the
city and to determine the type of unit, such as single family, duplex, and etc.
They were also used as an "indication" if the unit was owner occupied or renter
occupied.
STATEMENT of AUDITING STANDARDS
This performance audit was conducted in accordance with Generally Accepted
Government Auditing Standards, except section 3.82 requiring an external peer
review. Those standards require the auditor to plan and perform the audit to
obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for findings
and conclusions based on audit objectives. The auditor believes the evidence
obtained provides a reasonable basis for the findings and conclusions based on the
audit objectives.
OBJECTIVE
Determine the volume of requests for city services from renter and/or owner
occupied residential units which will establish a measure of costs to the city.
SUMMARY
A review of calls for service of the police department, fire department and code
enforcement indicate that substantially more calls are from renter occupied
dwellings than from owner occupied dwellings.
BACKGROUND
Many different services are provided to residents of the city. For example, the
City provides fire, emergency medical services, code enforcement and police
services. Utilities including water, wastewater, and stormwater are also provided.
Other services include the maintenance of streets and parks. The cost for the
utilities of water, wastewater and stormwater are considered to be fully paid by
the consumer through their utility bill. There is no differentiation between a
renter or owner as a utility customer. Streets and parks are utilized by residents as
well as non-residents. There is a significant difference in demand for police and
fire services between owners and renters which therefore causes the most
significant impact on the city.
It is not possible to calculate the actual cost of providing city services of police,
fire, and code enforcement to a specific residence. For example, it would be
possible to divide total fire department expenditures for a year by the number of
fire calls. This would provide a cost for an average call. However, it would not
- i \ u an accurate measure. Most fire runs last only a few minutes while others last
lacours. Some involve only one engine company while others involve all city fire
apparatus. Some runs are for business locations while others are for residences.
Without significant additional research resources, it is not possible to make cost
calculations.
The cost of a police call for service is also not easily determined. A call for a
burglary, threats, or follow up may involve only one police unit, while a domestic
violence call may involve three or more police units. The number of units who
respond is not included in the summary call data. Cases referred to the detectives
and their workloads are not included in the data of initial call volume. Without
substantial research assistance, it is not possible to compute actual costs.
However, the volume of requests for services can give a good indication of the
relative cost of police, fire and code enforcement.
METHODOLOGY
All parcels of land in the city are included in the Kitsap County property tax
records. Therefore the county property tax rolls are the most complete record
available to identify all residential units. They are coded for property class such
as single family residence, duplex, triplex, retail, restaurants, fast food and etc.
The city IT Department provided technical assistance to obtain the listing of
residential properties from the county property tax records.
The 2010 US Census also includes a count of all dwelling units in the city. This
is an independent reference to ensure all residences were included in the study.
The Census also provides data of the other cities in Kitsap County and the
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unincorporated area. The Census identified the following number of dwelling
units for these areas. The population of each area is also included.
A relevant comparison is the percent of housing units in each jurisdiction that are
owner occupied or renter occupied. Vacant units, when they become occupied,
could be either. The percentage is of total occupied units.
Owner
Owner
Renter
Occupied
Total
Bremerton
Population
Occupied
Occupied
Vacant
Units
Bremerton
37,729
6,380
8,552
2,341
17,273
Bainbridge Island
23,025
7,222
2,248
1,114
10,584
Port Orchard
11,144
2,389
11889
352
4,630
Poulsbo
9,200
2,401
1,482
232
4,115
Unincorporated
170,035
48,033
16,624
6,108
70,765
A relevant comparison is the percent of housing units in each jurisdiction that are
owner occupied or renter occupied. Vacant units, when they become occupied,
could be either. The percentage is of total occupied units.
Data for the following table was obtained from the property tax lists of the
number of properties according to county classification. This is only the number
of properties and is not a count of dwelling units. To compute the total number of
dwelling units requires the number of duplexes to be multiplied by two and
triplexes multiplied by 3 and etc.
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Owner
Renter
Occupied
Occupied
Bremerton
43%
57%
Bainbridge Island
76%
24%
Port Orchard
56%
44%
Poulsbo
62%
38%
Unincorporated
56%
44%
Data for the following table was obtained from the property tax lists of the
number of properties according to county classification. This is only the number
of properties and is not a count of dwelling units. To compute the total number of
dwelling units requires the number of duplexes to be multiplied by two and
triplexes multiplied by 3 and etc.
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NUMBER OF PROPERTIES BY CLASS
Single family residence
8,411
Residential condo
806
Duplex
904
Triplex
63
Four units
71
5 - 9 units
137
10 - 14 units
24
15 - 19 units
4
20 - 29 units
23
.30 - 39 units
23
40 - 49 units
16
50+ units
118
Mobile Home
277
Total
10,877
These listed properties were analyzed to determine the total number of residential
units in each of the multifamily properties. The Navy housing in Jackson Park
was also added since they are in the city limits, but are not listed on the tax rolls.
The result of this analysis indicates there are 16,311 dwelling units in this sample
of residential properties. The Census identified 17.273 units for a difference of
962. Some residential units are located above businesses or in mixed use
buildings. These appear on the property rolls as non-residential properties. It was
not possible to identify and count these properties without examining all parcels
on the tax rolls. The 5.6% difference was considered acceptable.
Calls for services to the police and fire departments go through CENCOM, the
911 public safety answering point. Each call is summarized in a data base that is
accessed by the police or fire departments. The data provides the date, time,
location and nature of the call. This data was used to measure requests for
service.
In 2011 the fire department had 6,809 CENCOM calls including 1,657 fire and
5,152 EMS calls. Some examples of these calls include 18 calls to remove people
from stalled elevators, 339 dispatched and cancelled en route, 201 to assist
invalid, 87 motor vehicle accident with injuries, and 118 where no incident was
found upon arrival at the dispatched address.
In 2011, there were 56,484 CENCOM calls for the police. However, a number of
these were traffic related. For example, each time an officer makes a traffic stop
it creates a call record. Each cell phone "hang-up," is a record. Motor vehicle
collisions, DUI, Media, and be -on -the -lookout -far all create a record. For the
purposes of this report, these types of calls have been eliminated in an effort to
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obtain a more accurate classification of calls for service relating to residential
units.
The following table reflects on the breakdown of CENCOM calls for police for
2011.
Total Calls 56,484
Less:
Traffic
12,010
Cell phones
6,608
Media
409
DUI
403
Motor Vehicle Incidents
1,410
Be On The Lookout
528
Tests
688
Traffic Related1,723
.
_ _..___._.._._..._.—
Subtotal
23,779
Calls Related To Residential 32,705
Code enforcement cases were small enough in number to manually match to
residential units identified in our sample.
DATA SAMPLES
It is not practical to analyze the requests for service to all 16,311 dwelling units.
It is also not practical to match the 32,705 police requests for service or the 6,809
fire calls to dwelling units. Therefore two random samples Nvere Selected of
residential housing units. One sample included all units such as single family,
duplexes, and apartment buildings. Another sample of single family units was
also selected.
All Residential Units
The sample for all residential units included 233 renters and 140 owners (or 62%
renter and 38% owner). As Iisted above, the Census reported 57% renter and 43%
owner which included only uccuhicd dwelling units.
The following table presents the results of calls for services for the addresses of
the properties in the first sainple.
5
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Percent of Calls To All Residences
Police EMS Fire Code Enf.
■ Rent ■ Own
6
Number of
Department
Calls
Percent
Police
Rent
2,006
94%
Own
118
6%
Fire Medical
Rent
444
93%
Own
35
7%
Fire
Rent
134
91%
Own
13
9%
Code Enforcement
Rent
17
81%
Own
4
19%
Percent of Calls To All Residences
Police EMS Fire Code Enf.
■ Rent ■ Own
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70.%
60. %
50.%
40,%
30.%
20.%
10.%
0.%
Single Family Residential Units
The second sample of only single family residences included 131 renters and 239
owners (or 35% renter and 65% owner). In this group the following call volume
was observed.
Average Calls to Single Family Units
Polite EMS Fire Code Enf.
■ Rent ■ Own
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Percent of
Number
Call
Average Calls
of Calls
Volume
per Residence
Police
Rent
179
56%
1.37
Owner
141
44%
0.59
EMS
Rent
45
63%
0.34
Owner
27
38%
0.11
Fire
Rent
7
41%
0.05
Owner
10
59%
0.04
Code Enforcement
Rent
6
50%
0.05
Owner
6
50%
0.03
Average Calls to Single Family Units
Polite EMS Fire Code Enf.
■ Rent ■ Own
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Police Department Community Services Program
In 2008 the city passed the Chronic Nuisance Properties ordinance to address
properties which had repetitive police calls and code violations. The goal was to
reduce the number of police calls for service and hold accountable those property
owners that allow nuisance activities to persist. To assist in keeping owners
aware of police activities at their properties, the police department created the
Landlord Notification Program. This voluntary program allows owners to sign up
and receive timely notifications of police calls to their properties. The
ComnrLInity Resources Officer frequently downloads police CENCOM calls, sorts
them by property, removes some sensitive data and then sends the listing to the
affected property owners via email.
This program had 497 individuals registered to receive email notifications.
Included in this number are some businesses as well as rental property managers
and housing authority managers. After eliminating what appear to be duplicate
entries, there were over 6,000 individual rental units included in the program.
Rental Licensing
Chapter 5.02 of the Bremerton Municipal Code requires any person engaged in
the business of renting real property, other than ancillary or casual rentals, to
obtain a city landlord license. Only one license is required regardless of the
number of units rented.
Washington cities comparable to Bremerton (either by size or proximity) that
currently have no rental license requirement include the following.
City
Population
Olympia
46,780
Lacey
42,830
Puyallup
37,240
Longview
36,730
Lynnwood
35,860
Wenatchee
32,090
Mt Vernon
31,940
Walla Walla
31,670
Bainbridge Island
23,380
Poulsbo
9,360
The following cities do have rental license requirements as summarized below:
City
Population
Applies
Seattle
612,100
New program to apply to
Being developed
all rentals
Tacoma
198,900
All rentals. May require
Fee of $90 or $24
a provisional license
depending on gross
which includes inspection
income
Marysville
60,660
Rental of four or more
New business $50
residential dwellings
Renewals $40
Lakewood
58,190
Five or more units on one
Annual Fee for
property or adjacent
complex $53
property is a Rental
Housing Complex
Richland
49,090
Three or more units
Fee of $40 plus $2
each additional unit
Burien
47,660
Four or more dwelling
Four to 24 units $100
units
25 or more $200
Edmonds
39,800
All rental units (rooms or
New license $125
apartments)
Renewal $50
Bremerton
38,790
All rentals
Fee $75
Bothell
33,720
Three or more dwelling
Fee based on
units are an apartment
number of
employees, type of
business and square
footage.
Issaquah
30,690
Any building containing
Fee $60 plus MLS
an aggregate of 10 or
fee of $15
more rental units located
on a single or contiguous
lots; or business or
commercial buildings
containing any rental
units
Port Orchard
10,400
Any apartment building
Fee $35
containing ten or more
units or any business
with containing rental
units
Bremerton Licensing
In 2012 the City of Bremerton sold 1,256 rental licenses which produced revenue
of $94,200. There is no enforcement if a landlord does not obtain a license.
Follow up letters are sent, but no enforcement steps have historically been taken.
For rental licenses, the Department of Financial Services uses software that has
been added on to the system used for business and occupation taxes. The
software allows for the recording of the applicants name and address and etc.
However, it has fields to list only three property addresses. Many owners have
more units and city staff has at times entered more than one address in these
fields. It is therefore not possible to accurately search for a licensed rental
address or to determine how many rentals one person may have.
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