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Alameda County, CA November 5, 2002 Election
Measure GG
Parking Tax Surcharge
City of Oakland

Municipal Code Amendment - Majority Approval Required

35646 / 43.8% Yes votes ...... 45822 / 56.2% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures

Results as of Nov 15 4:54pm, 100.0% of Precincts Reporting (244/244)
Information shown below: Summary | Fiscal Impact | Impartial Analysis | Arguments | Full Text

Shall the Oakland Municipal Code be amended in order to provide for a ten percent (10%) temporary (five year) surcharge to the City's parking tax rate?

Summary Prepared by The City Attorney:
This measure would authorize the City of Oakland to impose a ten percent (10%) surcharge for five years to the City's Parking Tax Rate. The tax is imposed on the amount paid by any person who rents a parking space in a parking station in the City.

Parking stations include any outdoor space, lot or enclosure, where motor vehicles may be parked, stored, housed or kept, for which any charge is made; and any building or structure, or any portion thereof, in which motor vehicles may be parked, stored, housed or kept, for which any charge is made.

The current parking tax rate is ten percent (10%). The surcharge would increase the amount of parking tax paid to twenty percent (20%) for a five-year period. The City may expend revenue it receives from the surcharge for any general fund purpose.

Fiscal Impact from The City Auditor:
This measure proposes to amend the Oakland Municipal Code in order to provide for a ten percent (10%) temporary (five year) surcharge to the City's parking tax rate. This ten percent (10%) surcharge is in addition to the current ten percent (10%) parking tax. Thus, the proposed tax rate would be twenty percent (20%) for five years.

FISCAL IMPACT

The Financial Services Agency estimates that the City will gain $6,641,000 in revenue annually from this ten percent (10%) parking tax surcharge. Although it is difficult to make such estimates with precision, we have reviewed data from the Financial Services Agency and the City Manager's Budget Office; and, conclude that these estimates are reasonable.

This tax surcharge revenue will be deposited into the City's General Fund subject to appropriation pursuant to the budget and fiscal provisions of the City Charter. An accompanying advisory measure (Resolution 77325) will allow the voters to determine if they want this tax surcharge revenue to be spent on violence prevention programs.

Parking operators will collect this ten percent (10%) parking tax surcharge from their parking customers. For example, a $5 parking rate will have a $.50 tax surcharge.

There will be administrative costs associated with this measure; however, these costs cannot be determined until program implementation.

s/ROLAND E. SMITH, CPA City Auditor

Impartial Analysis from The City Attorney
Measure GG asks that the voters of the City of Oakland authorize the City to impose a ten percent (10%) temporary (5 year) surcharge to the City's parking tax rate. All revenues that the City receives from the temporary surcharge will be deposited in the City's general fund and the City can expend the revenues for any general fund purpose.

A "Yes" vote is a vote in favor of authorizing imposition of a ten percent (10%) temporary surcharge to the City's parking tax rate.

A "No" vote is a vote against the imposition of a ten percent (10%) temporary surcharge to the City's parking tax rate.

Measure GG is submitted to the voters of the City in accordance with the Constitution of the State of California. In order to pass, a "Yes" vote by a majority (50%+1) of the voters voting on the measure is required.

s/JOHN RUSSO City Attorney

  News and Analysis

Oakland Tribune

San Francisco Chronicle
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Arguments For Measure GG
This measure, together with Measures HH and II will provide the necessary revenues to fund our violence prevention campaign. It is no secret that violent crime and particularly murders have increased recently. We must take decisive action to reverse this dangerous trend. Measure GG provides the money to do so.

With hard economic times in the Bay Area, Oakland has had to cut back on many programs. If we are to add 100 more police and carry out the specific crime prevention programs described in the Advisory Measure FF, we need more city revenues. That is what the temporary surcharge of Measure GG makes possible. For five years only, this measure adds a 10% surcharge to the cost of parking a car in a commercial lot in Oakland. Fighting crime, helping troubled youth, reducing domestic violence and assisting returning parolees simply cannot be done without more money. Paying a little more when you park your car is a small price to pay for increased personal safety and public well-being.

In point of fact, the majority of those who use our parking lots are non-residents. At the Oakland Airport, almost 90% do not live in our city. Therefore, the temporary parking surcharge provided in this Measure GG will obtain most of the revenue from those who enjoy Oakland's services but, because they live elsewhere, pay absolutely no Oakland property or utility taxes.

Please help keep Oakland on the move. Vote the revenue needed to support our violence prevention programs.

For more information, see http://www.jerrybrown.org.

VOTE YES ON GG.

s/JERRY BROWN Mayor of Oakland
s/ROBERT L. JACKSON Pastor of Acts Full Gospel Church
s/HENRY L. GARDNER Former City Manager

(No arguments against Measure GG were submitted)

Full Text of Measure GG
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Oakland desires to amend the Oakland Municipal Code in order to provide for a ten (10%) temporary surcharge to the City's parking tax rate; and

WHEREAS, all revenues received from any increase will be deposited in the general fund of the City to be expended for general fund purposes; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: That the City Council of the City of Oakland does hereby submit to the voters at the November 5, 2002 special election the text of the proposed ordinance, which shall be as follows:

SECTION 1. The Municipal Code is hereby amended to add, delete, or modify sections as set forth below (section numbers and titles are indicated in bold type; additions are indicated by underscoring and deletions are indicated by strike through type; portions of the regulations not cited or not shown in underscoring or strike-through type are not changed).

SECTION 2. The Municipal Code is hereby amended by adding Section 4.16.031 to read as follows:

4.16.031 Imposition of surcharge.
Effective February 1, 2003 or such later date as required by state law, there shall be a surcharge of ten percent (10%), in addition to the ten percent tax specified in Section 4.16.030, on the rent of every parking space in a parking station (as defined in Section 4.16.020) in the City of Oakland. The surcharge so collected shall be deposited in the General Fund subject to appropriation pursuant to the budget and fiscal provisions of the Charter.

When rent is paid, charged, billed or falls due on either an hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or other term basis, the rent so paid, charged, billed or falling due shall be subject (1) to the tax of ten percent imposed by Section 4.16.30 to the extent that it covers any portion of the period prior to February 1, 2003, and (2) to the ten percent surcharge imposed by this Section to the extent that it covers any portion of the period between February 1, 2003 and February 1, 2008. Where any tax has been paid hereunder upon any rent without any right of occupancy therefore, the Tax Administrator may, by regulation, provide for credit or refund of the amount of such tax upon application therefore as provided in this Code.

The surcharge imposed by this Section shall expire on February 2, 2008.


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