City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: JUNE 27, 2023
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
THROUGH: JAMES F. PARAJON, CITY MANAGER /s/
FROM: GREGG FIELDS, DIRECTOR, CODE ADMINISTRATION
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Release of Contingency Funds for Residential Rental Inspection Program Manager in Code Administration.
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ISSUE: Consideration of an implementation plan for release of contingency funding for a Residential Rental Inspection Program Manager.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council release Contingency Funds in the amount of $136,000 to the Department of Code Administration to fund one (1) FTE/Program Manager/Administrator Position-GS22.
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this memorandum is to request funding in the amount of $136,000 to support the creation of one (1) FTE/Program Manager/Administrator Position-GS22 for the Code Residential Rental Inspection Program. On Tuesday, April 25, 2023, during the Add/Delete Work Session for the FY 2024 budget, the City Council directed staff to fund this Program Manager/Administrator Position-GS22 out of the existing Code Special Revenue Fund contingency, pending Council’s review of a final implementation plan. The City Council then adopted the FY 2024 budget on Wednesday, May 3, 2023.
DISCUSSION: As multi-family residential properties are built, the City must ensure the buildings are maintained in a manner that promotes, safe, decent, and sanitary housing for tenants. The Department of Code Administration accomplishes this through the Residential Rental Inspection Program. The city’s existing Residential Rental Inspection program (RRI) is responsible for approximately 4,048 multifamily and some single-family rental properties. In locations where units are not compliant after initial inspection, follow up inspections are required to ensure the noncompliant elements are addressed.
The addition of a Program Manager/Administrator will enhance the Residential Rental Inspection unit’s operational effectiveness and increase the number of follow-up inspections. In addition, the position will enhance the City’s proactive public outreach by attending civic association meetings to respond to community concerns, provide multilingual resources for programs, and develop and maintain social media footprints in coordination with OCPI. Staff would create a webpage dedicated to Residential Rental Inspection resources and information, thus improving communications to promote safe, decent, habitable, and sanitary conditions for tenants.
Release of this contingency funding will support one position to implement two primary functions: (1) Significantly increase community awareness and multilingual customer outreach about the City’s existing program, and (2) Optimize available resources to proactively increase (by 15%) the frequency of non-compliant unit inspections in FY 2024. (See Attachment: Implementation Plan.) Residential Rental Inspections responsibilities are currently carried out by multiple staff and continues to put a strain on existing staff. There are several aspects of the program that can be managed more effectively. This includes evaluating program deficiencies, creation of necessary policies and procedures and public education, outreach and advocacy. Without this position, the program cannot function to its full potential. This will cause a negative impact on the city as new developments come online.
FISCAL IMPACT: There are no alternative sources. The City Council approved the funding on May 3, 2023 through the Code Special Revenue funds.
ATTACHMENT: Implementation Plan
STAFF:
Yon Lambert, Deputy City Manager
Diane Best, Assistant Director Code Administration