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Smart Voter
Alameda County, CA November 4, 2014 Election
Measure Z
Fund police, fire and violence prevention services
City of Oakland

Parcel Tax & Parking Tax Surcharge - 2/3 Approval Required

Pass: 75556 / 77.49% Yes votes ...... 21946 / 22.51% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures

Results as of Dec 28 11:38am, 100.00% of Precincts Reporting (275/275)
Information shown below: Summary | Impartial Analysis | Arguments |

Without increasing current tax rates, to reduce gun violence, robberies, and homicides, improve 9-1-1 response times and support at-risk youth/young adults, shall the City provide improved police, fire and emergency response services and proven community programs, including dropout prevention, crisis intervention, and job training/placement, by continuing to collect a parking tax surcharge and a parcel tax for 10 years subject to annual performance and financial audits monitored by a citizens oversight committee?

Summary Prepared by Oakland City Attorney:
A PROPOSED ORDINANCE TO MAINTAIN A PARCEL TAX AND A PARKING TAX SURCHARGE FOR A PERIOD OF TEN YEARS TO IMPROVE POLICE, FIRE AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE SERVICES AND COMMUNITY STRATEGIES FOR AT RISK YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS.

This measure would maintain a special parcel tax and a special parking tax surcharge for ten years. The City may use the special taxes solely to pay the costs and expenses related to the following objectives: reduction of homicides, robberies, burglaries, and gun-related violence; improving police and fire emergency 911 response times and other police services; and investing in community-focused violence prevention and intervention strategies to support at-risk youth and young adults. The measure establishes a Public Safety and Services Violence Prevention Commission appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council to review and evaluate the measure's implementation.

The measure authorizes a parcel tax on property owners for ten years beginning on July 1, 2015. The amount of the parcel tax depends on the type of property: (1) single family residential parcels, $99.77; (2) multiple residential unit parcels, $68.15 per unit; and (3) non- residential parcels, a rate based on a formula that determines the single family residential unit equivalent, multiplied by $51.07. The Council may annually adjust the parcel tax by the increase in the consumer price index up to 5%. Qualifying low income households, affordable housing projects, tenants in foreclosed single family homes, churches and schools are eligible for exemptions, reductions, or rebates.

The 8 1⁄2 % parking tax surcharge would remain in place until December 31, 2024.

Subject to exceptions described below, the measure requires that the City budget for, hire and maintain a minimum of 678 sworn police personnel. The City is prohibited from collecting the taxes provided by this measure for any fiscal year ("FY") that it does not budget for a minimum of 678 sworn police personnel. If the City budgets for but fails to maintain 678 sworn police personnel during a fiscal year, the amount of the parcel tax collected the following fiscal year would be reduced by an amount proportionate to the number of days the City did not meet the required staffing level during the prior fiscal year. If the City budgets for but fails to maintain a minimum of 678 sworn police personnel during a FY, collection of the parking tax surcharge during the following FY would be suspended for the number of days that the City did not meet required staffing level during the prior FY.

Exceptions to budgeting and maintaining a minimum of 678 sworn police personnel may apply: (1) if grant funding or other non-General Purpose Fund ("GPF") funding budgeted for sworn police personnel in FY 2014-2015 becomes unavailable in later years; (2) if a severe, unanticipated event adversely impacts the GPF to prevent the City from maintaining the minimum number of sworn police personnel; or (3) if the number of sworn police personnel unexpectedly falls below the required level despite the City's hiring plan. In such cases the numeric requirements for budgeting and maintaining sworn police personnel would be reduced by the shortfall. The measure establishes requirements for the City to declare an exception. The measure prohibits layoffs that reduce sworn police personnel below 800.

Impartial Analysis from Oakland City Attorney
In 2004, Oakland voters approved Measure Y, which imposed a "special" parcel tax and a "special" parking tax surcharge to fund police, fire and violence prevention services. (A "special" tax is a tax the City can use only for the purposes specified in the measure.) Measure Y expires at the end of 2014. This measure would maintain the special parcel tax and parking tax surcharge for an additional ten years. Like Measure Y, funds raised by this measure must be used exclusively to fund police and fire services and community services to assist at-risk youth and young adults and crime victims. A Public Safety and Services Violence Prevention Commission with duties similar to the former Measure Y Commission would review implementation of the measure. The Measure Y Commission has 11 members; this measure would establish a 9-member commission.

The parcel tax rates set by this measure and by Measure Y vary depending on the type of parcel. Penalties and procedures for refunds are included in the measure.

Measure Y required that the City appropriate sufficient funds to maintain 739 uniformed officers in fiscal year 2003-2004 and prohibited the City from collecting the tax in any year that the City did not comply with this requirement; in 2010 the voters amended Measure Y to eliminate the minimum staffing requirement for officers. This measure requires that the City budget for, hire and maintain a minimum of 678 sworn police personnel. If the City fails to budget for a minimum of 678 sworn police personnel for a fiscal year, the City would be prohibited from collecting the parcel tax or special parking surcharge for that fiscal year. If the City budgets for but fails to maintain 678 sworn police personnel during a fiscal year, the amount of the property tax collected during the following fiscal year would be reduced by an amount proportionate to the number of days that the City did not meet staffing level requirements during the prior fiscal year. If the City fails to maintain 678 sworn police personnel during a fiscal year after July 1, 2016, collection of the parking tax surcharge during the following fiscal year would be suspended for a period determined by the number days that the City did not meet staffing level requirements during the prior fiscal year.

Existing law does not prohibit layoffs of sworn police personnel. This measure prohibits layoffs of sworn police personnel that would reduce sworn police personnel to less than 800.

Exceptions to budgeting and maintaining a minimum of 678 sworn police personnel may apply in some circumstances if the City makes certain determinations. (See City Attorney's Summary of Measure). This measure establishes a process for the City to determine if any of the exceptions apply.

The City Council placed this measure on the ballot. Approval of this measure requires an affirmative vote by two-thirds of the voters who cast ballots.

s/ Barbara J. Parker, City Attorney

  Nonpartisan Information

League of Women Voters

News and Analysis

Oakland North, a UC Berkeley Graduate Journalism School project

Oakland Tribune
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Arguments For Measure Z Arguments Against Measure Z
Measure Z does not increase tax rates. Instead, Measure Z simply continues an existing measure to improve public safety in Oakland by focusing on reducing violent crime and supporting our at-risk youth with proven community programs.

Dozens of Oakland community organizations, working in collaboration with City leaders, spent the past year developing a prudent public safety measure that will focus on reduction of violent crime through additional police officers and research based community programs for at-risk youth.

Measure Z is the result of their careful work.

Without increasing taxes, Measure Z will fund critically important public safety investments, including:

  • Additional Oakland police officers who will focus on reducing shootings, violent crime, robberies, and homicides, and increase support for the Ceasefire model and community policing in every neighborhood in Oakland. * Proven community programs that support our at-risk youth and reduce crime; these include job training, high school graduation assistance, violence intervention strategies, victim support and more. The specific programs Measure Z will fund have reduced crimes by 83 percent where they have been tried before in Oakland.
  • Additional emergency response and firefighting capability to improve 9-1-1 response times.

Measure Z requires important safeguards to ensure these funds are spent responsibly: public financial audits and a Citizens Oversight Commission composed of residents and subject-area experts with authority to review how funds are spent and the ability to hold City Council publicly accountable.

Measure Z is a responsible plan that extends a current measure, it does not increase taxes. If Measure Z does not pass, we risk losing needed funding for dozens of police officers, proven youth programs and emergency response providers.

Join a broad coalition of Oakland businesses, neighbors, community groups, and elected leaders. Increase public safety without increasing our taxes. Vote YES on Measure Z. http://www.aSaferOakland.com

s/ Barbara Leslie
President and CEO, Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
s/ Richard L. Word
Former Oakland Police Chief
s/ Katherine Gavzy
President, League of Women Voters of Oakland
s/ David Kakishiba
President , Board of Education . Oakland Unified School District

Rebuttal to Arguments For
Measure Z is not a continuation of Measure Y. Read it closely. It doesn't promise to add a single additional police officer; it doesn't give us one community policing officer for each beat, and there are no limits on the types of programs that the money can be spent on. The original Measure Y was $88; Measure Z starts off at $99, and increases with inflation.

Measure Z will not make us safer. The City gets this tax money even if police staffing goes down. Proponents claim this tax will fund specific programs that have reduced crime. But in fact, FBI statistics show that crime has gone up in the 10 years since Measure Y, not down. The proponents are making their numbers up, just like City leaders who made up the "100 Blocks" program that turned out not to exist. No specific improvements to firefighting or 911 response times are even referenced in the measure.

Measure Y promised oversight too - and look what happened. No audits were performed until the City lost a lawsuit. The City spent $200 million over the 10 years Measure Y was in effect, and what do we have to show for it? Fewer officers and higher crime. The money never bought us the promised staffing; rejecting this tax will not impact the number of officers or crime. Tell the City to go back to the drawing board and come back with a measure that will give us guaranteed improvements in public safety. Vote NO!

s/ Marleen L. Sacks
Member, Beat 22x Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council
s/ Charles Pine
Member Oakland Residents for Peaceful Neighborhoods
s/ Colleen Brown
Former Vice-Chair Community Policing Advisory Board (CPAB)
s/ Marcus Johnson
Community Policing Advisory Board, Member
s/ Frank Castro
Community Policing Advisory Board Neighborhood Watch Steering Committee

Don't be fooled. This new $100 per parcel tax does not fund a single additional police officer and will do nothing to improve public safety. This measure is yet another blank check to irresponsible and dishonest City leaders.

In 2004 Oakland officials put the original Measure Y on the ballot, promising us 63 additional police officers for 10 years, one community policing officer per beat, meaningful violence prevention programs, accountability and improved public safety. They lied. We now have dozens of officers FEWER than what we had then, and crime has soared! We got the promised police staffing for less than six months. The City wasted millions recruiting new officers , only to lay them all off less than a year later. The City never conducted the required financial audits until it was sued. The violence prevention programs have little accountability and have not prevented or reduced crime, which is significantly higher now than in 2004.

Read the measure closely - it is more deceptive and has less accountability than the original. It does not guarantee a single additional officer. It allows the City to collect the tax even if police staffing goes down! The measure eliminates the previously required dedicated community police officers, and eliminates any restrictions on what type of programs the money can be spent on. We never got the promised additional officers under the original Measure Y, so don't worry about losing them if this tax is rejected.

This new tax, which will also be imposed on renters, will do nothing to force Oakland to staff police at necessary levels. True supporters of meaningful improvement to public safety in Oakland will reject this tax and tell Oakland to come back with a new measure that actually guarantees increased police staffing, and ensures fiscal responsibility. Vote NO!

s/ Marleen L. Sacks
Member, Beat 22x Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council
s/ Charles Pine
Member Oakland Residents for Peaceful Neighborhoods
s/ Frank J. Castro
Community Policing Advisory Board Neighborhood Watch Steering Committee

Rebuttal to Arguments Against
Don't be deceived by the inaccurate statements of the few Measure Z opponents.

Measure Z is not a new tax. It will not raise current tax rates. Measure Z offers a real opportunity to take a stand against crime without increasing taxes.

The League of Women Voters of Oakland carefully studied this measure and offered its strong endorsement because they believe that Measure Z is a critical and necessary component of Oakland's crime-fighting efforts.

Fact: Over the past ten years, the City has learned many lessons about what does and doesn't work to decrease crime. Measure Z concentrates on reducing violent crime; such as homicides, shootings, and robberies. Measure Z also focuses on at-risk youth and the reentry population with community policing programs and strategies that have been proven to reduce recidivism and new crimes.

Fact: Measure Z will fund at least 50 police officers to focus specifically on reducing violent crime. Measure Z also requires a minimum staffing level of police officers well above recent levels.

Fact: Measure Z requires a strong citizens oversight commission of independent, expert residents with increased authority to review the use and efficacy of Measure Z funds.

Fact: Crime is down in Oakland, but we have a long way to go. If we lose Measure Z, we will go backwards - not forward.

Join the League of Women Voters of Oakland, community groups, elected leaders, neighbors, and Oakland businesses.

Increase public safety without increasing our taxes. Vote YES on Measure Z.

http://www.aSaferOakland.com

s/ Nancy E. O'Malley
District Attorney
s/ J. Alfred Smith, Jr.
Senior Pastor, Allen Temple Baptist Church
s/ Keith Carson
President, Alameda County Board of Supervisors
s/ Robert L. Jackson
Bishop Bob Jackson, Acts Full Gospel Church


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