Also: The racially-motivated aspects of Oakland’s taxation and service delivery; Rebecca Kaplan isn't qualified for the job; school administrator pay isn’t what’s straining OUSD’s budget.
I would like to see a report on Oakland City Administrator Jestin D. Johnson. What has he improved in Oakland City Government during his time in the job? How long has he been in the job? I realize that the political climate he works in must be quite challenging, but still he should have some accomplishments/improvements to show for his time. And, frankly, his org chart online has a lot of problems and doesn't instill confidence.
An aspect of Prop 13 that creates the disproportionate tax burden you've pointed out is that Prop 13 prohibits an ad valorem tax rate higher than 1%. Therefore an attempt to tie a new tax to a home's value is prohibited. So, the long established work around is to create a parcel tax. There have been moves to tie a new tax to a home's size or lot size. That may reduce the imbalance you've pointed out.
I would like to see a report on Oakland City Administrator Jestin D. Johnson. What has he improved in Oakland City Government during his time in the job? How long has he been in the job? I realize that the political climate he works in must be quite challenging, but still he should have some accomplishments/improvements to show for his time. And, frankly, his org chart online has a lot of problems and doesn't instill confidence.
Forest, thank you for your comment, and the interesting suggestion. You are not the first reader to ask us about this.
Excellent and necessary article. Time to change this destruction of the people of Oakland. Mindy Pechenuk, candidate for Oakland Mayor 2026
Thank you for the straight forward information
One way to stop property tax increases is to stop voting for them.
An aspect of Prop 13 that creates the disproportionate tax burden you've pointed out is that Prop 13 prohibits an ad valorem tax rate higher than 1%. Therefore an attempt to tie a new tax to a home's value is prohibited. So, the long established work around is to create a parcel tax. There have been moves to tie a new tax to a home's size or lot size. That may reduce the imbalance you've pointed out.