A participating county may charge an application fee from a claimant upon that claimant’s submission of an application form to participate in the program, consistent with Section 54985 of the Government Code. The application fees derived from all claimants in a participating county shall be used to offset that county’s costs incurred in administering the program. The proceeds of the fee shall be deposited in an account within the Property Tax Deferral Fund, established by Section 20822,

to be used exclusively to pay those administrative costs.