A home on the range just got more expensive

Employees of 12 state departments who live in state-owned housing ? including two rangers and a maintenance worker living at Crystal Cove State Park ? will begin paying private-sector prices for their accommodations, under a new law.

Governor Schwarzenegger last week signed the measure written by Newport Beach Assemblyman Chuck DeVore. It gives the state Department of Personnel Administration power to ensure departments that provide housing get regular appraisals and charge fair market value to those who live in it.

State law already requires state agencies to charge fair market rents for their housing. But some departments have neglected to get appraisals of their housing, so no one can be sure what a fair market charge is, said Debbie Endsley, acting chief deputy director of the Department of Personnel Administration. Endsley’s department oversees compensation of state employees.

The new law “puts some teeth in telling department directors that ‘you’re 100% accountable for this, and your responsibility rests here,’” she said.

A March audit from state auditor Elaine Howle found the state may have lost more than $11 million in rents and tax revenue in 2003 from rents that were too low and unreported tax benefits from cheap housing.

As an example, one of the two rangers living at Crystal Cove pays $185 a month, and the other pays $25 a month to rent a space for his mobile home, state parks spokesman Roy Stearns said.

An Internet search for Newport Beach apartments showed the cheapest available from the Irvine Co. was more than $1,500 monthly. The California Assn. of Realtors recently reported the city’s median home price is nearly $1.35 million.

Endsley said her department will create an approved list of appraisers that departments can use, so there will be fewer obstacles to getting their properties revalued. Those that are charging too little will be expected to boost rents, and if any rents are too high they can be lowered.

If the rents can’t be raised to fair market rates because employee union contracts limit rent increases, employees must report the difference as a taxable benefit.

“We’re fine with the passing of this measure, and we support the intent of the measure,” Stearns said, but he added it could price some employees out of the market.

It’s vital to have park rangers live on-site at some parks ? particularly Crystal Cove, where the state just spent millions to create public overnight rentals, he said.

With Orange County housing costs, Stearns said, “If they were to pay a fair market rate for that property, they’d never be able to afford to live there.”

A park ranger’s starting salary is $2,890 a month, and the top of the pay scale for an experienced ranger is $4,135. Stearns said some seasonal lifeguards, who earn $14 an hour, sometimes live in park housing.

The new law is a small victory for DeVore, whose district includes Crystal Cove. He has a history of skirmishes with the State Parks Department, and he said he’s been accused in this case of punishing state employees to settle a personal vendetta.

But he claims it’s about making sure no one is shown favoritism by getting the taxpayer-funded perk of cheap housing.

“I’m just hoping that now that this thing is signed, in a couple of years we’re going to see fairness and consistency in how the state uses its 1,188 housing units,” he said.