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Agenda Item
S16 25-0369 Subject: April 2025 Special Election Parcel Tax Measures For Independent Oversight Agencies And Essential Services Recovery
From: Finance Department
Recommendation: Adopt A Resolution On The City Council's Own Motion Submitting To The Voters At The April 15, 2025 Special Municipal Election, An Ordinance To Adopt A Special Parcel Tax To Maintain The City's Independent Oversight Agencies And Programs; Requesting Consolidation Of The Election With All Special Municipal Elections To Be Held In The City Of Oakland On April 15, 2025; And Directing The City Clerk To Take Any And All Actions Necessary Under Law To Prepare For And Conduct The April 15, 2025 Special Municipal Election
Gail Wallace for League of Women Voters Oakland: Two of the League's principal concerns are transparency and accountability. We have supported the oversight bodies which would be supported by the proposed tax and we have been dismayed that their operations have been hampered by lack of funding mandated in the Charter. For example, the Auditor's Office currently operates with 7 of the 14 staff authorized. The PEC has placed half its investigative caseload on hold and has had to delay launch of the public campaign financing program known as Democracy Dollars. Therefore we appreciate the Administration's response to Council's request for funding mechanisms other than the general fund. We ask you to seriously consider this measure by discussing it today and continuing it for a second reading in January. Oakland voters have overwhelmingly supported these oversight bodies to establish them. There is a strong argument that it should be the voters who decide whether to support a parcel tax to allow the PEC, the auditor's office and police oversight bodies to function as intended. Please do not short circuit the discussion particularly in view of the possibility discussed in the report of offsets in the PFRS levy that might mitigate the overall tax burden. We also hope that you will give yourselves and the public time to receive input from the leadership and directors of the oversight bodies and from the public. This is a crucial moment for oversight and accountability in Oakland.
Gail Wallace for League of Women Voters Oakland: Two of the League's principal concerns are transparency and accountability. We have supported the oversight bodies which would be supported by the proposed tax and we have been dismayed that their operations have been hampered by lack of funding mandated in the Charter. For example, the Auditor's Office currently operates with 7 of the 14 staff authorized. The PEC has placed half its investigative caseload on hold and has had to delay launch of the public campaign financing program known as Democracy Dollars. Therefore we appreciate the Administration's response to Council's request for funding mechanisms other than the general fund. We ask you to seriously consider this measure by discussing it today and continuing it for a second reading in January. Oakland voters have overwhelmingly supported these oversight bodies to establish them. There is a strong argument that it should be the voters who decide whether to support a parcel tax to allow the PEC, the auditor's office and police oversight bodies to function as intended. Please do not short circuit the discussion particularly in view of the possibility discussed in the report of offsets in the PFRS levy that might mitigate the overall tax burden. We also hope that you will give yourselves and the public time to receive input from the leadership and directors of the oversight bodies and from the public. This is a crucial moment for oversight and accountability in Oakland.