Richmond Rent Board staff projects higher per‑unit fees as unit count falls and salaries rise

At a study session on April 15, Executive Director Fred Tran outlined preliminary FY2026–27 budget assumptions and a reconciliation of covered units that staff conducted after importing data into the city's IMS land‑management system.

Tran said IMS reconciliation showed a net decrease of 429 covered units: "fully covered units" increased by 75 to 7,612 while "partially covered" units fell by 504 to 10,372; the net effect reduces the denominator for per‑unit cost recovery. He also noted new memoranda of understanding include a 5% cost‑of‑living adjustment and that staff is using a fringe‑benefit estimate near 54% of salaries in its preliminary projections.

"The fees did increase. The biggest portion is that the salaries had increased from the new MOUs," Tran said, explaining that even if expenditures stayed the same, fewer units means higher per‑unit fees because costs are spread across fewer units. Under the status‑quo assumptions presented (with the deputy director role omitted), staff estimated a preliminary fully covered unit fee of roughly $277 and a partially covered fee of about $159; staff emphasized these are preliminary, status‑quo numbers and requested board guidance on staffing assumptions.

Board members asked for alternative scenarios, including the effect of restoring the deputy director position. Tran gave a high‑level estimate that including a deputy director could raise fully covered fees by about $23 per unit (to roughly $300) and partially covered fees by about $13 per unit (to roughly $172), and said a fuller budget discussion will return at the next meeting.

The board received the update and agreed to schedule accelerated budget review dates to meet a July 1 deadline for submitting fees to City Council.