Economics

Mayor Schaaf’s Budget Proposes Only $250,000 for Homelessness

Published

9 years ago

May 19, 2017

Caption: Nancy Nadel speaks at Tuesday night City Council meeting, calling on the council to pass a 2017-2019 budget that prioritizes “housing the unhoused.” Photo by Ken Epstein

Based on a survey conducted by the city on community budget priorities, Oaklanders overwhelming agree that homelessness and displacement are the most critical issues the city faces.

The survey found that the Oakland’s top issue to address in the new 2017-2019 budget was “Housing costs/affordability,” which jumped 29 percent from the previous survey and for the first time displaced “crime/violence/safety” as residents’ major concern.

As a result Mayor Libby Schaaf’s proposed budget came under fire at this week’s City Council meeting, as public speakers and council members criticized her administration’s proposal for allocating meager resources for affordable housing for low-income residents, including only $250,000 to meet housing and service needs for the city’s growing homeless population.

Speaking at the council meeting, Councilmember Dan Kalb said his top budget priority was funding for homeless services and developing housing. “It is lacking and needs to be upped significantly,” said Kalb.

“$250,000 is completely inadequate,” said Councilmember Annie Campbell Washington.

“What we can fund and should fund (should be sufficient) to make a real dent,” she said, pointing out that the budget also lacks any funding for the usual summer job program for Oakland youth.

Stating that “”$250,000 not enough,” Councilmember Desley Brooks proposed expediting funds from the Measure KK infrastructure, bond which voters approved in November, to begin spending money on acquisition and construction of affordable housing units as quickly as possible.

Calling for a “humane and” sensible budget,” Kaplan said $250,000 is not a “serious proposal. ¨We have a homeless crisis.”

She said the first round of KK bond expenditures should fund “affordable housing construction and immediately buy existing (structures), including single-room-occupancy buildings (SROs),” before the market drives up SRO prices.

Many of the dozens of public speakers told the council called for the council to take action on homelessness and affordable housing. A number of speakers said the city could find additional funds if it eliminates what they view excessive spending on the Oakland Police Department, which accounts for the biggest chunk of the city’s budget

Nancy Nadel, a community activist and former West Oakland councilmember, said she was speaking for a group Oaklanders dedicated to “housing our unhoused residents.”

“I have been coming here for at least seven months with no discernable progress,” she said.

“We see a lot of finger pointing,” blaming the county for not doing enough. “We hope to see new units to house our unhoused residents (in the new budget.)”

In a statement published in the SF Chronicle on Sunday, Mayor Schaaf said, “It is disappointing not to have all the resources we want,” and that as a result the city has to make “hard choices.”

Schaaf said that Alameda County has the primary responsibility to provide homeless services.

A new budget must be approved by the end of June. The next city council discussion on the budget is scheduled for May 30.

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Business

California Launches Study on Mileage Tax to Potentially Replace Gas Tax as Republicans Push Back

Under current law, California depends heavily on revenue from the gas tax to fund roads, highways, and infrastructure, but those revenues are projected to shrink as electric vehicle use grows and overall gasoline consumption drops. The mileage study would look at a “road charge” system where drivers pay based on how many miles they drive, rather than how much gas they buy.

Published

4 days ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City is the author of AB 1421. File photo.

By Tanu Henry, California Black Media

California lawmakers are moving forward with a study to explore a mileage-based tax as a potential replacement for the state’s traditional gas tax — a shift supporters say is driven by declining fuel tax revenues as more drivers switch to fuel-efficient and electric vehicles.

The research, tied to Assembly Bill (AB) 1421, would extend and support work by the state’s Road Usage Charge Technical Advisory Committee through 2035.

The bill does not yet enact a new tax. Instead, it extends the study and advisory work until 2035 and would have the Legislature receive findings and recommendations, with a report due by Jan. 1, 2027.

Republicans in the California Legislature have been vocal in their opposition. Assembly Republican Leader Heath Flora criticized the proposal.

“We already pay the highest gas taxes in the nation. Now Sacramento is talking about adding a new tax for every mile people drive,” Flora said. “Piling on another tax right now shows just how out of touch politicians in Sacramento are with the reality working families face.”

The plan has drawn broader GOP criticism from leaders outside the Legislature as well. California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton called a mileage fee “absolutely outrageous” and said, if elected, he would veto the tax, adding that tracking and charging drivers for every mile is unacceptable.

Supporters say the study is a pragmatic response to long-term funding challenges.

On the Assembly Floor on Jan. 29, Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D–Suisun City), the bill’s author, said that California’s transportation funding is “becoming less stable, less equitable, and less sustainable as more drivers switch to fuel-efficient and zero-emission vehicles.”

“Drivers using the same roads often pay different amounts for that use,” Wilson continued. “Low income and rural commuters who must drive farther and less efficient vehicles can pay more while others contribute less despite roadway impacts.”

Wilson and other supporters contend that a per-mile road charge could ensure that all drivers contribute fairly to the costs of maintaining roads, regardless of the type of vehicle they drive.