Oakland Budget Advisory Commission

November 12, 2025

Oakland's budget watchdogs are coalescing around a progressively tiered parcel tax as the city's best shot at raising $40 million in stable, recurring revenue for the June 2026 ballot—a recommendation that could reshape how property owners across the city share the fiscal burden.

• Tiered parcel tax emerges as preferred path to $40M revenue goal
• New Finance Director Bradley Johnson takes the helm; interim Budget Administrator named
• Commission sets December 3 special meeting to finalize recommendation before Council deadline
• 2026 workplan prioritizes year-round community engagement and project-based committees
• Study sessions planned on pensions, MACRO program, procurement, and equity benchmarks

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Tiered Parcel Tax Takes Center Stage

The Commission devoted the bulk of its meeting to a draft recommendation memo urging the City Council to pursue a progressively tiered parcel tax—rather than raising the volatile real estate transfer tax—to generate $40 million annually for the June 2026 ballot.

Why it matters: Oakland's transfer tax revenues swing wildly with the real estate market. A parcel tax offers predictability, but the design determines who pays. The tiered approach would assess different rates based on property type and size, with the goal of protecting small property owners and ensuring commercial landlords can't simply pass the full cost to tenants.

"Our recommendation was explore the feasibility of a more progressively tiered parcel tax," said Commission Member Ben Gould, one of the memo's authors. He explained that commercial tenants would likely absorb some costs regardless of structure: "Most commercial tenants, I believe, have triple net leases," Gould noted, meaning property taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs flow through to renters.

State of play: The draft memo drew broad conceptual support but no vote. Commissioners flagged several areas needing refinement before December:

• Clearer tiering examples for multifamily properties versus single-family homes
• Analysis of impacts on small businesses and nonprofits
• Accountability mechanisms such as citizen audit committees or public dashboards

One commissioner expressed enthusiasm for the equity framing: "I love the progressive tiered approach," they said, while urging "a citizen audit committee or some way a dashboard" to track how revenues are spent.

The other side: Commission Member Mike Petouhoff voiced strong opposition to any transfer tax increase, citing revenue volatility and broader economic concerns. "I strongly support not raising the real estate transfer tax," Petouhoff said. He pointed to Oakland's retail leakage problem: "It's estimated between 1 billion and 1.6 billion in annual revenue is lost" to shoppers spending outside city limits.

Commission Member Mandela Bliss supported the memo's direction but pushed for more granular data on how businesses would respond: "they don't want to like pay more taxes," Bliss observed, emphasizing the need to show stakeholders concrete impacts.

A commissioner also raised collection risks, suggesting the city "should set the target at 40 million" gross to account for exemptions and delinquencies that could reduce the net yield.

What's next: The memo authors will revise the recommendation and return it to the Commission at a December 3 special meeting. The timeline is tight: staff need Commission input before the Council begins drafting ballot language in January.

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New Finance Leadership Announced

Finance staff delivered personnel news that will shape Oakland's budget process through the next fiscal cycle.

Why it matters: Leadership transitions in the Finance Department directly affect how budget information flows to advisory bodies and Council. The new team will inherit both the $40 million revenue measure and the city's ongoing structural deficit challenges.

"Bradley Johnson was named as our new finance director," a staff member reported. The city also appointed Rena Stabler as interim Budget Administrator.

Commission Member Gould noted that the Finance and Management Committee "have not yet met since our last meeting," leaving the Commission without fresh updates on Council-level budget deliberations.

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2026 Strategy: Year-Round Engagement and Project-Based Committees

Chair Jane Yang led commissioners through a planning discussion aimed at making the Budget Advisory Commission more impactful and resilient in the coming year.

Why it matters: Advisory commissions often struggle with turnover, inconsistent attendance, and reports that arrive after decisions are already made. The 2026 framework attempts to address all three problems.

Key principles adopted:

1. Year-round community engagement rather than concentrated input during the annual budget cycle
2. Concrete, measurable recommendations tied to specific outcomes
3. Project-based ad hoc committees replacing standing subcommittees, allowing focused work on discrete issues

Commission Member Mandela Bliss framed the approach: "these are the three steps," connecting engagement, recommendations, and structural reform as an integrated strategy.

Commission Member Larisa Casillas emphasized the need for visual communication tools and raised equity questions about city programs. "I would be interested in Learning more about our macro program," Casillas said, referring to Oakland's Mobile Assistance Community Responders alternative to police response for certain calls.

Study sessions under consideration: Commissioners brainstormed topics for deeper dives with outside experts:
- Pension obligations and long-term liabilities
- Procurement reform and vendor diversity
- Youth services and workforce development
- MACRO program outcomes and costs
- Equity benchmarks across city spending

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December Meeting Schedule Adjusted

To meet the Council's January timeline for the $40 million measure, Chair Yang announced a scheduling change.

"We're just gonna say we're having a special meeting on December 3rd," Yang said. The regular December 10 meeting may be canceled depending on staff availability to support the agenda.

Staff confirmed the logistics were manageable: "I don't think it's gonna be a problem," a staff member said regarding document preparation and posting requirements.

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Minor Items

• Minutes deferred again: Approval of past meeting minutes was continued to a future meeting; one commissioner volunteered to help clear the backlog of several months.
• Brown Act reminder: Staff reviewed email protocols and posted an agenda item request process document to the Commission's website.
• No public comment: No members of the public addressed the Commission during the meeting.

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What to Watch

The December 3 special meeting will be the Commission's last chance to shape the $40 million revenue recommendation before it moves to Council. Key questions remain: How will tiered rates be structured across residential, multifamily, and commercial properties? Will the measure include exemptions for seniors, nonprofits, or small businesses—and if so, how will the city backfill the revenue gap? The answers will determine not just whether the measure passes, but who ultimately pays for Oakland's fiscal future.