City Government

City of Richmond Finance Director Jim Goins Retires

Published

10 years ago

July 15, 2015

Special to the Post

In his 10 years with the city, he led in the restoration and improvement of all of the city’s credit ratings to “A+” category or better; re-opening parks, community centers and libraries; the creation and adoption of the city’s Five Year Strategic Business Plan; timely financial reporting and balanced budgets.

In 2005, Goins came to Richmond as Finance Director and City Treasurer. When he first came to the city, he dealt with a recent staff reduction of over 300 employees, a deficit of $35 million. The city had no credit rating.

Goins has overseen the issuance of $882 million in new or refinanced debt, representing over $100 million in savings to the city and funding projects such as the Port of Richmond Honda Project, which guarantees $90 million in revenue over 15 years, the financing of the renovated Civic Center, and the upcoming Social Impact Bonds, which will provide funding for acquisition and rehabilitation of vacant, dilapidated properties that will then be sold to first-time homebuyers.

In 2008, he received the Award of Excellence in Public Finance from the California Public Securities Association for his exceptional work, creativity, service and leadership in public finance.

Under Goins’ leadership, the city has annually received awards from the Government Finance Officer’s Association (GFOA) and the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers (CSMFO) for excellence in financial reporting and budgeting.

Goins spent the first 19 years of his career in his home territory of Salt Lake County, Utah, starting out as the Intergovernmental Relations Director and eventually being promoted to the position of Chief of Staff to the Board of County Commissioners.

Part of his legacy in Salt Lake County includes the move of the New Orleans Jazz basketball team to Salt Lake and the financing and construction of the Salt Palace Convention Center.

In 1980, Goins moved the West Coat, settling in Compton, initially as special assistant to the City Manager but soon moving up to the position of City Manager.

As a result of his management efforts there, Compton experienced an increase in sales tax revenue of 10 percent and improved service delivery while generating a 10 percent overall budget savings.

He was also instrumental in establishing relationships between block clubs and other community groups, which resulted in volunteer cleanup of businesses and neighborhoods and ultimately resulted in a 46 percent reduction in homicides and a total 8 percent reduction in crime.

Goins decided in 1990 to take his skills to the private sector, starting a career as a licensed Municipal Financial Advisor and Underwriter, specializing in Portfolio Management, Investments, as well as Community Development and Housing.

He honed his skills in Public Finance over the next several years, providing financing services to cities, counties, developers and non-profit agencies across the country.

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The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

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Alameda County

Oakland Council Expands Citywide Security Cameras Despite Major Opposition

In a 7-1 vote in favor of the contract, with only District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife voting no, the Council agreed to maintain its existing network of 291 cameras and add 40 new “pan-tilt-zoom cameras.”

Published

2 weeks ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

At the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Flock Safety introduces new public safety technology – Amplified Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools designed to improve law enforcement investigations. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland City Council this week approved a $2.25 million contract with Flock Safety for a mass surveillance network of hundreds of security cameras to track vehicles in the city.

In recent weeks hundreds of local residents have spoken against the camera system, raising concerns that data will be shared with immigration authorities and other federal agencies at a time when mass surveillance is growing across the country with little regard for individual rights.

The Flock network, supported by the Oakland Police Department, has the backing of residents and councilmembers who see it as an important tool to protect public safety.

“This system makes the Department more efficient as it allows for information related to disruptive/violent criminal activities to be captured … and allows for precise and focused enforcement,” OPD wrote in its proposal to City Council.

According to OPD, police made 232 arrests using data from Flock cameras between July 2024 and November of this year.

Based on the data, police say they recovered 68 guns, and utilizing the countywide system, they have found 1,100 stolen vehicles.

However, Flock’s cameras cast a wide net. The company’s cameras in Oakland last month captured license plate numbers and other information from about 1.4 million vehicles.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Fife was critical of her colleagues for signing a contract with a company that has been in the national spotlight for sharing data with federal agencies.

Flock’s cameras – which are automated license plate readers – have been used in tracking people who have had abortions, monitoring protesters, and aiding in deportation roundups.

“I don’t know how we get up and have several press conferences talking about how we are supportive of a sanctuary city status but then use a vendor that has been shown to have a direct relationship with (the U.S.) Border Control,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Several councilmembers who voted in favor of the contract said they supported the deal as long as some safeguards were written into the Council’s resolution.

“We’re not aiming for perfection,” said District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger. “This is not Orwellian facial recognition technology — that’s prohibited in Oakland. The road forward here is to add as many amendments as we can.”

Amendments passed by the Council prohibit OPD from sharing camera data with any other agencies for the purpose of “criminalizing reproductive or gender affirming healthcare” or for federal immigration enforcement. California state law also prohibits the sharing of license plate reader data with the federal government, and because Oakland’s sanctuary city status, OPD is not allowed to cooperate with immigration authorities.

A former member of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission has sued OPD, alleging that it has violated its own rules around data sharing.

So far, OPD has shared Flock data with 50 other law enforcement agencies.