City Workers and Residents Denounce Oakland Finance Director's Failure to Prevent Tax Evasion

Amidst efforts to close a forecasted deficit and threats of service cuts, city workers and
residents demand clear action and accountability from Finance Director Erin Roseman

OAKLAND, Calif., May 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- On Tuesday, May 14, city workers and residents will gather in front of Oakland City Hall before joining the City's Finance & Management Committee Meeting to deliver public comment. City unions, including IFPTE Local 21 and SEIU 1021, share a letter delivered to Mayor Sheng Thao and the Committee, outlining the urgent need for clear action and accountability from Finance Director Erin Roseman.

Who: IFPTE Local 21, SEIU 1021, IAFF 55, IBEW Local 1245, EBASE
What: Press conference
When: Tuesday, May 14, at 9am
Where: Oakland City Hall front steps, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza

Click here to read the union coalition letter regarding uncollected business taxes.

The letter describes how in 2023, thousands of businesses did not pay business taxes by the April 17th deadline. As much as $34 million in business tax collections from prior years may still be outstanding. Last year, the first notices of delinquency were mailed a full six months after the normal timeline for business tax collections. To date, thousands of businesses still have not been noticed.

"It is a failure of government to talk about cuts for first responders when millions of dollars in tax revenues are going uncollected," said Zac Unger, firefighter and IAFF 55 President. "We demand clear action and accountability from the City Administration to ensure corporations are paying their fair share."

"The work city workers do is too important to jeopardize because of failures to pay or collect taxes. Oakland needs to make sure it's getting everything that is coming to it from profitable companies and big landlords before it starts making cuts that hurt our city's lowest-paid workers and deprive residents of services they need," said Antoinette Blue, a 911 dispatcher who serves as the president of SEIU 1021's City of Oakland chapter.

"Oakland residents shouldn't have to suffer due to the city's failure to collect the estimated $34 million in unpaid business taxes owed to the city," said Vanessa Riles, Oakland Campaign Coordinator for East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE). "Instead of preparing city workers to face layoffs, which will result in the loss of critical city services to residents, the city should be holding the Finance Director, Erin Roseman accountable for enforcing Oakland's own tax code and collecting all unpaid business taxes in Oakland so that we can continue to fund the city jobs and services we need."

"Over $34 million is sitting on the table, and the City is walking away from it. This is unacceptable," said Charley Souders, IBEW Local 1245 Business Representative. "We need more city staff if we want to meet the needs of residents and keep our neighborhoods safe."

"Our unions have tried to engage with the Finance Director about these issues, but have been met with resistance and a troubling lack of transparency," said Julian Ware, IFPTE Local 21 Oakland Vice President. "Oakland residents deserve leaders who are able to clearly answer basic questions and show a single-minded focus on enforcing the City's tax codes."

SOURCE IFPTE Local 21