Measure for Measure: Oakland Measures Q & S

Voting is an essential part of civic engagement, but it can be confusing, especially in local elections. There are some hyper-local issues that we’re deciding on in the upcoming primary election on March 3rd. That’s why we’re doing this round-up of the measures, to provide some insight into the March 2020 ballot.

Today we’re walking you through the two Oakland ballot measures we endorsed.

Check out our round-up page for more articles on the other measures.

What is Measure Q?

Measure Q institutes a parcel tax to fund park maintenance and homeless services. The tax would be $148 for single-family residences, $101 per unit for multi-family residences, and the tax on commercial properties would be based on the size of the property. Non-profit affordable housing organizations will pay a reduced rate. Low-income seniors and very-low-income individuals are exempt from the tax.

The city estimates the tax will raise $21 million every year. 64% of the revenue will go to park maintenance, 30% will go to homelessness services, 5% will go to stormwater and trash removal, and 1% will go to auditing and oversight. The money for homelessness services will fund temporary shelters as well as transitional and permanent housing.

Oakland pays for park maintenance outside of its main budget. The funding mechanism, the Oakland Lighting and Landscape Assessment District, was established in 1989 with a parcel tax that does not adjust for inflation. Since then, an $8 million annual budget shortfall has opened up between the tax collections and the parks’ maintenance needs. This gap led to a major decline in the maintenance of the city’s parks. Measure Q would shrink that gap to $800,000 annually and is indexed to inflation to protect against the gap expanding again.

The measure was unanimously placed on the ballot by the city council and requires a two-thirds majority to pass.

What are the arguments for and against Measure Q?

Proponents of Measure Q argue that it’s important for the city to fill the hole in its parks maintenance budget while also dedicating additional funding for unsheltered Oaklanders living in parks. The measure also contains funding for important stormwater infrastructure.

Opponents argue that the flat nature of the parcel tax will place a disproportionate burden on low-income Oaklanders. The measure does, however, contain exemptions for low-income seniors and very-low-income households. Other critics complain that Oakland already has too many parcel taxes and the city needs to find other revenue sources to fund its basic services. They also argue that this measure does not contain nearly enough funding to effectively address the city’s homelessness crisis.

What is TechEquity’s position on Measure Q?

Spending on parks hasn’t kept up with cost-of-living increases opening up an $8 million budget gap. The measure will close most of that gap and provide needed, if insufficient, funding for services for unsheltered people living in Oakland’s parks. The exemptions for low- and very-low-income households mitigate some of the regressive nature of a flat parcel tax.

We say vote YES on Measure Q!

What is Measure S?

Measure S allows Oakland to spend tax revenue it has already approved.

Under California law, the Gann limit caps the growth of city budgets. In recent years, Oakland voters enacted special taxes, including a vacancy tax and real estate transfer tax, which will push the city’s revenue over the Gann limit. Voters can raise the cap imposed by the Gann limit with a majority vote on Measure S. The increase would last for four years, until 2024. If Measure S does not pass, the city may have to return the tax revenue over the Gann limit cap.

What are the arguments for and against Measure S?

Supporters of the measure argue that voters have already approved the special taxes that raised the additional revenue so the city should be able to spend that money.

Opponents argue that the city needs to be more accountable about its spending and rejecting Measure S would instill greater fiscal discipline.

What is TechEquity’s position on Measure S?

Oakland voters have already approved these taxes so the city should be able to spend the money. Some of the taxes, like the vacancy tax, are not intended to raise revenue but change behavior. For example, the goal of the vacancy tax is to encourage property owners to rent empty residential units. If this measure doesn’t pass, the city may have to return funds, potentially making it harder for those taxes to achieve their goals.

We say vote YES on Measure S!

Check our round-up page for more measure articles as we publish them!

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