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Supervisors adopt amendment to mobile-home rent-control rules; debate centers on Bay Area CPI choice
Summary
Tuolumne County adopted ordinance amendments adjusting the maintenance net operating income formula for mobile-home fair-rate hearings; board discussion focused on why the Bay Area (San Francisco'Oakland'Hayward) CPI was chosen to compute adjustments and included a recusal advised by county counsel.
The Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors on June 16 adopted amendments to sections 5.28.0.02 and 5.28.0.07 of the county code governing mobile-home rent-control fair-rate-of-return hearings, after a board member recused and counsel explained the recommended procedure.
Madam Clerk read the ordinance amendment. County counsel advised the board that the recusal recommendation followed Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) guidance. The board debated the choice of consumer price index used to calculate adjustments to maintenance net operating income (MNOI). Several supervisors asked why the county selected the San Francisco'Oakland'Hayward (Bay Area) CPI rather than a statewide or other regional CPI; the concern centered on optics and whether the Bay Area index would reflect local costs for a population on fixed incomes.
County counsel summarized the prior fair-rate hearing record and the expert'driven rationale: the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish a Tuolumne County CPI, and the expert concluded the Bay Area index most closely reflected the economic area influencing local conditions. "The Bureau of Labor Statistics... doesn't do a separate Tuolumne County CPI officially... The closest to the Tuolumne County one is the Bay Area one, and that was the one the expert settled on," county counsel said.
A public commenter urged that whenever the board uses a phrase like "Bay Area" the staff provide a plain-language, step-by-step explanation of the math so residents can understand the percent-change calculation and its effect on rents.
The board voted to waive the second reading and adopt the ordinance amendment. The motion carried with a recorded vote of 3 in favor, 0 opposed and 1 recusal (the recusal was recommended by county counsel and acknowledged on the record). Board members directed staff to provide clearer public-facing explanations of how the CPI selection affects fair-rate calculations.
The ordinance amendment was read into the record as Item 6; the county clerk will publish the ordinance and staff will prepare plain-language materials explaining the CPI choice and how percentage changes will be applied.
Ending: The board adopted the ordinance and recorded a recusal; staff will publish clarifying materials for the public.
