The Pasadena Rental Housing Board is scheduled to receive a detailed briefing at its April 2 regular meeting on a proposed $5,630,071 Fiscal Year 2027 operating budget for the Rent Stabilization Department, an information-only report that outlines spending plans for the coming year and seeks Board direction before a June submission to the City Council.
The item is designated as an information-only report, meaning the Board will receive the presentation and may provide direction to staff, but no formal vote on the budget is expected at this meeting.
City staff intends to incorporate Board feedback to prepare a recommended Fiscal Year 2027 Operating Budget and rental housing fee for Board consideration at a future meeting anticipated in April.
Following Board approval, the recommended budget is to be submitted to the City Council for adoption in June.
Fiscal Year 2027 spans July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027.
The proposed $5,630,071 budget represents an increase over the Board-approved Fiscal Year 2026 revised budget of $5,190,468.
The budget is divided into three main expense categories: personnel at $3,510,005, services and supplies at $1,283,144, and internal service charges at $836,922. The proposed budget was prepared by Executive Director Helen Morales and Management Analyst IV Will Panza.
The department is not requesting any additional staff for Fiscal Year 2027. Its 20 full-time equivalent employees are divided among four divisions: Administration and Policy, Rent Registration, Outreach and Enforcement, and Petitions and Hearings.
The Fiscal Year 2026 budget had authorized 21 full-time equivalent positions, but one Hearing Officer position was removed at staff’s recommendation to lower the rental housing fee, a decision made because the Hearings Division had only recently launched in the second half of Fiscal Year 2025 and work volume was relatively low at the time.
Two line items account for the most significant year-over-year increases in the services and supplies category.
The Hearing Officer Services Program is proposed at $150,000, an increase of $50,000 from Fiscal Year 2026. Expenditures for contracted Hearing Officer services have totaled approximately $8,385 during Fiscal Year 2026 to date, but utilization is expected to increase as petition volume continues to grow. Since the Petitions and Hearings program launched on Feb. 5 through Feb. 28, a total of 99 petitions have been filed. The proposed $150,000 allocation represents approximately 564 hours of contracted hearing officer capacity, sufficient to assist with approximately 32 hearing proceedings during Fiscal Year 2027.
Language Translation Services are proposed at $100,000. Monthly translation expenses currently average approximately $6,500, with the most recent invoice totaling $8,398. The proposed amount reflects a $50,000 reduction from a preliminary estimate of $150,000 presented at the March 5 Pasadena Rental Housing Board meeting, after the City Attorney’s Office advised that new Brown Act translation requirements do not apply to the Pasadena Rental Housing Board.
The Rental Registry line item is proposed at $150,000. The City entered into a three-year contract with 3di in February for Rental Registry services, with first-year costs totaling approximately $120,000.
The report also outlines costs for other city department staff whose work supports the program but who are not counted in the Rent Stabilization Department’s departmental headcount. These include a Deputy City Attorney fully devoted to Rent Stabilization at a proposed cost of $250,514, and a proposed $60,000 contribution to a Pasadena Public Health Department community engagement initiative.
The Pasadena Rental Housing Board is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. on April 2 in the Council Chamber, Pasadena City Hall, 100 North Garfield Avenue, Room S249.
For more information call (626) 744-7311 or visit https://www.cityofpasadena.
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