City Packs "Community" Meeting
for Bigger LLAD Tax

Councilmembers Jean Quan and Jane Brunner announced a meeting to soften up the public for a bigger LLAD tax. As an aide to Quan said in an emailed invitation:

"Unfortunately, the LLAD, formed in 1989, did not include a cost of living increase. This dual impact of increased facilities, trees, and lights combined with long term inflation has resulted in decreasing levels of maintenance.

"We continue to struggle with finding a long term solution to preserving the city's green heritage and infrastructure. We want to share with you what options are available to preserve and improve the levels of service under these circumstances. With your input we hope to put a proposal in front of the City Council next month."

"Options ... under these circumstances." In other words, please choose how you would like to be swindled.

This farce was set for Jan. 25, 2006, 7 p.m. at the Lake Merrit Garden Center, 666 Bellevue Avenue.

Jane Powell reported on the Jan. 25, 2006 meeting:

Just got back from tonight's LLAD meeting at the Garden Center. Packed with city staff and attendees predisposed to support another ballot measure for more LLAD money (Friends of Oakland Parks, etc.).

I pointed out that I paid nearly $3,500 last year just in special taxes and assessments to the City (not the County), out of more than $13,000 in total property taxes. I said the assessments for LLAD as well as many of the others (Measures E, R, and Q [and Y]) are fixed fees, which are regressive and represent a much larger chunk of income to flatland residents like myself than it does to generally higher income people in the hills.

Jean Quan even admitted that in these kinds of elections, where only property owners get to vote, votes from Districts 1 and 4 decide the election, since voters there are much more likely to vote than in other districts.

I suggested that a large part of the reason we have no money is because more than 50% of the city is in redevelopment areas; all that tax increment money is being used to line the pockets of developers. It doesn't go into the general fund to pay for things that the city ought to provide out of the general fund – things like police and fire, libraries, and yes, lighting and parks. The $60 million that the City is giving to Forest City is far more than they hope to garner with this new assessment.

Jane Brunner and Jean Quan weren't too happy to hear that. Instead they wanted to brainstorm about what lovely new toys we might want to get with the new money. No one else supported me publicly, but many people came up after the meeting and said they agreed, including some of the staff members.