Oakland City Council At-Large Candidate Charlene Wang Has Rolled Out A 5-Point Plan To Eliminate Oakland’s $177 Million Budget Deficit
Oakland (Special to ZennieReport.com) – Today, Charlene Wang, the Oakland City Council Candidate, introduced a five-point-plan to get rid of the budget deficit. Oakland’s massive $177 million budget deficit is the elephant in the room for every city initiative. Wang says “Unless we balance our books, the city will face painful service cuts and tax increases.”
“Every leading candidate for Oakland City Council At-Large supports a citywide audit,” Wang says.
Charlene Wang says “this five-point plan is a good first step that will help cut waste, but it’s not enough to solve our fiscal mess. These are some of the ways I’d help balance the budget if elected for the Oakland City Council At-Large Seat”:
- Refinance pension interest payments: We spend $133 million annually on interest costs associated with city pensions. With the recent rate cut, and the prospect of more, refinancing interest payments could make a big difference.
- Win grants: Oakland was the only city in California to miss a $15 million retail theft grant. My experience in the Biden-Harris Administration was launching multibillion dollar grants. I’ll make sure we take advantage of every grant opportunity that our tax dollars already pay for.
- Bring in revenue: New York City earns $40 million annually by selling advertising space on bus stops. We won’t bring in that much, but selling advertisement space on city property could help. Let’s also lease city land for badly needed apartments. This will give renters more options and bring in city revenue.
- Do real economic development: rebuild Oakland’s Economic Development Department to do real business retention and attraction – something not done in years. That means programs to get grants to small businesses in Oakland for working capital and code enforcement. It means going after businesses in other cities and countries and bringing them to Oakland. That will help grow Oakland’s tax base, and thus tax revenue.
- Stop crime: declines in sales tax, real estate transfer tax, and hotel tax revenue are all linked to our public safety crisis. Read more about my safety plans here.
Charlene Wang says “These are some of my ideas to fix our budget mess. I’m proud to have run a policy-focused campaign from the beginning of this race. That’s what all campaigns should be about. Now, we have to decide if these stay ideas or become law. I need everyone reading this to call their friends, sign up to canvass, or make a contribution. Please commit to act today.”
About Charlene Wang
Charlene Wang (王夏琳) is a 33-year old East Bay native who has dedicated her life to tirelessly fighting for disadvantaged communities by launching new social programs at all levels of government for homelessness, education, healthcare, and environmental justice. Wang’s desire is to create opportunity for others is shaped by her own experience with family violence and its consequences with my mom being left in poverty, and the recognition that my access to a high-quality K-12 public school education has given her opportunities that others should have too. She graduated with honors from Columbia University with a degree in Environmental Engineering and earned her Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
You can learn more about Charlene Wang’s run for The Oakland City Council At-Large Seat at https://www.charleneforoakland.com/