Revenue Numbers From Contested Real Estate Tax Reveal $3.4 Million Boon For City Hall

Real Estate Transfer Tax Rains Money 

on Emeryville

Emeryville's general fund received $3.4 million in calendar year 2015 under a new real estate transfer tax voted in by the electorate in November of 2014 according City Hall, an amount far exceeding what the City has hauled in during any other year for these transactions.  The tax, called the Real Property Transfer Tax (RPTT), was dramatically increased when Emeryville voters passed 2014's Measures U&V that transformed the town into a 'charter city' that enabled the revenue increase on real estate transfers and was panned in the run up to the election by the business community and outside lobbying groups including the powerful Sacramento based California Association of Realtors.

Councilwoman
Jac Asher
Urged passage of the
real estate transfer tax
in spite of dire warnings
from Sacramento lobbyists. 

The formerly cash strapped Emeryville took in a $3,397595 windfall for 2015, the first full year of transfer taxes at the new rate which became effective on January 1st, 2015 the City announced last week.  This compares to calendar year 2014 under the old tax rate when the City took in just $475,001 despite a vigorous real estate churn.  Before Emeryville voters approved the switch, real estate taxes were charged at the rate of 55 cents per $1000 of value, the maximum a 'General Law' city can charge versus unlimited but set at $12 by the City Council now that Emeryville is a 'Charter City'.  By comparison, one real estate transfer last year, the sale of Emery Tech on Hollis Street, netted City Hall's coffers more than a million dollars alone.

Supporters of the Charter City Initiative, including its chief backer and progenitor Councilwoman Jac Asher, told voters before the November 2014 election much revenue could be gained by raising the tax rate and the numbers released last week tend to vindicate Ms Asher.
Emeryville had stood alone as a general law city among its charter city neighbors Ms Asher reminded voters and the City Hall had left some $21 million on the table with its former anemic 55 cent rate over the last few years.

Jason Crouch
Real estate salesman
and former Chair of the
Emeryville Chamber of Commerce:
If Emeryville voters approve
this real estate transfer fee,
"It's the beginning of the end
for Emeryville". 

The NO on Measures U&V side said passage of the Charter City Initiative and the increasing of the real estate transfer tax would bring a domino effect of general business failure and real estate collapse to Emeryville, even possible bankruptcy for City Hall.  Former Chamber of Commerce Chair Jason Crouch posited himself as point man for the NO on Measures U&V and he hosted public forums warning of the dire consequences to befall Emeryville if the voters said yes to the higher tax rate even though at $12 per $1000, the new rate is still lower than what Berkeley or Oakland charges.  "It will be the beginning of the end for the Emeryville we know and love" the Vallejo resident said.

Voters soundly rejected incessant pleadings in the 2014 election from the NO side in the form of volumes of mailers from portions of the Emeryville business community and especially the California Real Estate Association who dumped more than $85,000 to defeat the two measures.

The money from the new tax, more than $300 for every woman, man and child in Emeryville, pays for among other things, sidewalk repair, park maintenance, street maintenance, landscaping and other needed infrastructure work.

Unofficial: Measures U&V Win

The Alameda County Registrar of Voters has declared Measures U&V in Emeryville as winning yesterday's contest with a revised set of numbers in an "unofficial" tally.  Measure U will make Emeryville a charter city and Measure V will impose a real estate transfer fee.  
U&V won easily despite Vallejo resident, real estate salesman and Emeryville Chamber of Commerce Board member Jason Crouch taking the lead in the fight, marshaling the National and California Association of Realtors to swamp Emeryville in an expensive campaign against the two measures. Spending by the NO side overpowered the YES side in a 43:1 ratio, unprecedented in modern Emeryville electoral history.


The newly revised numbers (all precincts reporting):

YES on U   822 at 57.6%
NO on U  605 at 42.4%

YES on V   843 at 59.2%
NO on V   581 at 40.8%

Breaking News: Measures U&V Winning, Measure K wins

Emeryville' s Measures U&V, the charter city initiative and real estate transfer fee initiative are headed towards decisive wins tonight despite some $85,000 spent to defeat the measures by the National and California Association of Realtors.  With all precincts reporting, the numbers are Yes on U: 449, No 346 and Yes on V 464, No on V 330.  These numbers will go up due to late absentee ballots that have not been counted according to poll watchers but the Tattler can report both measures appear to be sailing to victory.
Measure K, the school parcel tax is winning a lopsided victory with Yes getting 686 votes and No 117. Again, these numbers will go up a little according to poll watchers.

Follow the Money: Real Emeryville Residents VS Fake Emeryville Residents

Measure U&V Spending:

Emeryville David & Sacramento Goliath

Residents Outspent 43-to-1

$70 per vote vs $1.63

Follow the Money; sixth in a series

The Tattler introduces a new feature for the 2014 election season: Follow the Money. 

This election cycle is shaping up to be very expensive and very far-flung with lots of money from out-of-town interests pouring into the city.  We plan on digging out and exposing this money from people and organizations we don’t know that are trying to change our town to their liking.  These unfamiliar individuals and interest groups may effect our November elections with all their spending in Emeryville but the Tattler is going to make sure that while they assert their influence, we’re going to expose who they are. 

Click on the 'Follow the Money' label at the bottom of this story or use the search bar to review the entire Follow the Money series.

This election season, Emeryville residents are witness to an extreme asymmetry of two forces loosed on the town both looking to influence voters.  One is represented by the centralized Sacramento power of one of the largest lobbying interest groups in the State of California and the other, entirely locally homegrown, is comprised of Emeryville residents and businesses.  The Sacramento based group plans to spend perhaps up to $70 per vote and using the same metrics, the Emeryville side will spend $1.63 per vote.  Both entities claim to be operating only with Emeryville's best interests at heart.

The Sacramento group, representing the NO side, is unabashedly calling itself "Citizens to Preserve Emeryville" and is funded by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the California Association of Realtors (CAR) to the tune of $85,000 ($60,000 in their bank account earmarked for Emeryville with an additional $25,000 set aside for the Emeryville campaign).
The Emeryville group, "United Emeryville Yes on U&V with Mayor Asher" has raised $1050 and received  $912.07 in donations envelopes, stamps, etc) for a total of $1962.07.  Both sides have not spent all their money yet.

Measure U would make Emeryville a charter city, a local control governance model.  Measure V would institute a real estate transfer fee in Emeryville, the same as our neighboring cities have, re-capturing revenue lost, half Emeryville's budget, after Sacramento dissolved the Redevelopment Agency.  Both measures must pass for them to be operational.

The NO on U&V side has a committee located in Sacramento comprised of CAR & NAR members but they've secured a few Emeryville residents that signed their names, printed in the official Alameda County voter guide to give the impression there's a local grassroots swell against the measures.  It's notable that every Emeryville resident they've convinced to sign on is personally in the real estate business here.  The YES on U&V side is comprised of Emeryville residents both on the committee and with the signatories in the voter guide (with the sole exception of the CEO of the Emeryville Chamber of Commerce).  The YES side also has an Emeryville real estate agent as a signatory it should be noted.

Bucci's
The iconic
Emeryville restaurant.

We could totally

go there.

A Fabulous Dinner at Bucci's
If Emeryville residents vote this election the same as last local election (about 1200 people cast ballots) the NO on U&V side will spend about $70 per vote.  Put another way; at that price, each Emeryville voter could have a fabulous night out at Emeryville's premier restaurant, Bucci's on Hollis Street.  On the menu; zuppa del giorno with an antipasti plate of steamed mussels and a wild arugula salad, the entrée is a truffle marinated flat-iron steak paired with a glass of really nice Napa Zinfandel combining a leathery blackberry nose and a buttery vanillin finish.  Because we're not cheap and we believe everyone should make a living wage, we're also going to leave a very generous tip for Bucci's professional and friendly wait staff.  After that we'll still have some mad money left over.
The YES on U&V side will spend about $1.63 per vote.  We'll get a Kit-Kat bar and a gum ball at the 7-Eleven on San Pablo & 40th Street for that price (we might be a little short and have to kick in a little extra, depending on the gum ball).

Readers Note:  We don't do restaurant reviews here at the Tattler but Bucci's truly is a great neighborhood dining experience: the food is rustic and provincial Italian mindfully prepared with integrity and artistry.  

City of Emeryville U&V Information Mailer Mysteriously Lost in Mail

City Hall Perplexed About Mailers: 
Nowhere to be Found

Elections are always emotional events with passions running high and suspicions of dirty tricks the order of the day, especially in Emeryville.  Against this backdrop, eyebrows have been going up around town after City Hall announced recently that informative mailers about Measures U&V, many thousands of them mailed weeks ago, apparently have been "lost in the mail".  

City Manager
Sabrina Landreth
Missing mailers
"extraordinary"

The No on U&V side, lavishly funded by the California Association of Realtors (CAR) it should be noted, has had no problem getting thousands of their vitriolic mailers delivered to Emeryville residents in a timely manner by the Post Office.  

The City of Emeryville produced two  nonpartisan informational mailers so voters can get an objective analysis amid the hyperbole from CAR regarding Measure U, the charter city initiative and Measure V the real estate transfer tax initiative.  
Sabrina Landreth, Emeryville's City Manager, speaking about the City's two informational mailers told the Tattler yesterday, "It is my understanding mailer number two has arrived in some mailboxes, but mailer number one has yet to be located, even though it was dropped at the Post Office on October 8th".  She added, ^"We are working with our consultant to try to track them down, but as of yesterday, there is no sign of them even after [our] consultant searched the docks and pallets at the Oakland [Main] Post Office.  Even with the post office’s understaffing and major delays that we have heard about in getting these packets out this season, this has been an extraordinary delay."

The US Postal Service appears to have botched
the delivery of Emeryville City Hall's
objective, informational election mailer.  

Voter completed absentee ballots are already being returned and so in the absence of any information from the City, Emeryville voters have not been getting the benefit of an objective presentation of the facts about Measures U&V; a fact not lost on Mayor Jac Asher, one of the five City Council members that originally brought Measures U&V to the voters.  Ms Landreth said Mayor Asher is considering possibly filing a formal complaint with the Postal Service in response.

Follow the Money: A Snapshot of the California Association of Realtors

Outside Lobbying Group Unconstrained by Money 

Follow the Money; fifth in a series

The Tattler introduces a new feature for the 2014 election season: Follow the Money. 

This election cycle is shaping up to be very expensive and very far-flung with lots of money from out-of-town interests pouring into the city.  We plan on digging out and exposing this money from people and organizations we don’t know that are trying to change our town to their liking.  These unfamiliar individuals and interest groups may effect our November elections with all their spending in Emeryville but the Tattler is going to make sure that while they assert their influence, we’re going to expose who they are. 

Click on the 'Follow the Money' label at the bottom of this story or use the search bar to review the entire Follow the Money series.

News Analysis
One of the largest lobbying groups in California has vowed to stop Emeryville residents from voting for their own autonomy in a local control measure and a real estate transfer fee measure (Measures U&V) on the November 4th ballot and these Sacramento lobbyists are putting their money where their mouth is.   The Sacramento based California Association of Realtors as well as the National Association of Realtors (CAR & NAR) has targeted the State with a $3.4 million war chest for this election and they've taken a keen interest in Emeryville's November elections resulting in a barrage of campaign flyers, now beginning to drop on Emeryville.

CAR- They want to
extract maximum 
profits from Emeryville.
They're going to stop
residents from deciding for
themselves about
local control.

The California Association of Realtors has determined our little town of Emeryville will be a pivotal player in their ongoing fight to stop any more citizens in California from being able to enact local control governance (by becoming a charter city) and collect revenue via real estate transfer fees.  This lobbying group sees local control as potentially cutting into their substantial profits and having 'lost' many towns in the state to local control over the years, they're now drawing a line in the sand here in Emeryville.

Meet CAR
The California Association of Realtors has money to burn.  Here's a quick synopsis of their spending:

• They've spent almost $30 million statewide on 593 election flyers over 17 years
• They're half done spending the $3.4 million they targeted in the State for this election cycle and still have almost $2 million in cash on hand as of Oct 19th
• In 2010 during the height of the Great Recession, they spent $33 million in California of which $23 million was spent trying to influence voters
• In 2012 that number rose to $41 million spent on lobbying alone
• They've set aside $85,000 for this year's Emeryville campaign

Emeryville is especially worrisome for CAR & NAR this election year because of the streamlined ballot initiative language the City Council authored for Emeryville voters to consider as they go to the polls.  City Council members recognized the importance of keeping the ballot language simple for voters and they had to battle City Attorney Mike Biddle to craft it so.
Large, verbose ballot initiatives filled with unintelligible legalize is what voters have faced in other California charter city municipal elections, scaring voters off.  This year, Emeryville managed to make the Measures U&V ballot language on the charter city local control and real estate transfer fee clear, concise and short, and that's a big problem for these Sacramento lobbying groups.  In addition, the Measure U & V language assures voters Emeryville governance will stay just as it is, no change at all.

Emeryville Chamber of Commerce Discredited

Real Estate Salesman
Jason Crouch
Used to work for
the Emeryville Chamber
of Commerce.  Now he
works for CAR.

The Emeryville Chamber of Commerce likes Measures U&V because they recognize Emeryville is in a bad position after Sacramento dissolved the town's Redevelopment Agency; the mechanism Emeryville used to build virtually all the infrastructure in town.  Once flush with cash, Emeryville is now on a glide-path to insolvency and new sources of revenue must be found to even maintain the city's infrastructure let alone build more.  The Chamber's Board of Directors recognized this and voted to endorse Measures U&V last summer.  But the sole real estate agent among the Chamber's Board members, Vice President and Vallejo resident Jason Crouch, has turned on his colleagues at the Chamber and gone rogue.  Mr Crouch broke with the Chamber of Commerce, discrediting them and crossed over to the California Association and National Association of Realtors in a Faustian bargain.  The Realtors sought a point man for their Emeryville campaign and Mr Crouch offers entree and local credibility with his Chamber of Commerce Board membership connection.

Emeryville residents will only get campaign flyers (and phone banking) against Measures U&V  because State law forbids the City of Emeryville, the author of both Measures from such campaigning.  State law does permit the City certain "educational" materials to be distributed but they are highly regulated in how much they can spend and they are not allowed to use the hyperbolic coercive language let alone deception the California Association of Realtor is allowed to use in its flyers.    

Follow the Money: Mayor Asher Decries "Scare Tactics" Used by Out-Of-Town Lobbyists on Measures U&V

Follow the Money; second in a series

The Tattler introduces a new feature for the 2014 election season: Follow the Money. 

This election cycle is shaping up to be very expensive and very far-flung with lots of money from out-of-town interests pouring into the city.  We plan on digging out and exposing this money from people and organizations we don’t know that are trying to change our town to their liking.  These unfamiliar individuals and interest groups may effect our November elections with all their spending in Emeryville but the Tattler is going to make sure that while they assert their influence, we’re going to expose who they are. 

Click on the 'Follow the Money' label at the bottom of this story or use the search bar to review the entire Follow the Money series.

Mayor Jac Asher

Mayor Jac Asher is issuing a warning to all Emeryville residents about the tsunami of cash flowing into our town from Sacramento real estate lobbyists.  Here is Ms Asher's letter from her blog:

“Yes” on U & V

Big Money flowing into Our Little City.

The five members of the Emeryville City Council voted unanimously to place a set of measures on this November’s ballot: Measures U & V.

Measures U & V work together.  Measure U allows Emeryville to become a charter city—this is the only way that we can set and collect a real estate documentary transfer tax.  We’ve constructed the charter to be very narrow, and are not changing the composition of our Council or other important elements of the way our City is governed.  Measure V is our transfer tax measure.  Real estate transfer taxes are collected when a property is bought/sold.  The cost of the tax is typically split between the buyer and the seller, or, like any part of a real estate transaction, can be negotiated by buyer and seller.  All of our neighboring cities are charter cities, and this tax provides millions of dollars for them to provide services and infrastructure to their residents.  To give you some idea of what this would mean to Emeryville:  In 2013, the year the office buildings located on Powell Street, West of the 880 Fwy then known as The Watergate Towers, were sold, Emeryville collected $130K. If we had the real estate transfer tax at that time, the City would have collected over $2 million, a huge difference.

There is wide support for Measures U & V in Emeryville.  Every candidate running for City council this election season supports U & V.

The Emeryville Chamber of Commerce has also endorsed these measures.  They understand that the city’s ability to provide amenities, services, and infrastructure is crucial to the businesses in our town and that these measures will help our city remain attractive to businesses.  The Alameda County Democratic Party as well as the League of Women Voters of Berkeley Albany Emeryville have also endorsed the measures.

As mayor, I pushed for these measures because Emeryville no longer has the funding mechanism of the State of California’s redevelopment program to build and support our infrastructure needs.  This program was eliminated by the state in 2011, taking $30 million dollars annually from our budget—roughly half of our city budget.  We must find a new way forward to build parks, support our excellent services, keep our roads paved and regularly maintained—all of the things that you value as a resident.  We cannot depend wholly upon the state to come up with solutions for us—it’s time for us to take this step.  Measures U & V will allow us to build up capital funds for our projects and to have a means to pay-as-we-go.

Money and scare tactics against the measures have begun flowing in from both the National and California Association of Realtors.  These groups are among the most powerful lobbying groups in California. The California Real Estate PAC has a “toolkit” at the ready for fighting transfer taxes even though they recognize that cities currently like ours (General Law Cities) have had those tax rates frozen since 1968.  They don’t want General Law cities to collect a dime more than they did in 1968.  That’s their bottom line.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics OpenSecrets.org Blog, the California Real Estate PAC has already spent over 1.5M in the 2014 Election Cycle.  The site also shows a list of their members.   Why are these people from San Diego, Long Beach, and Bakersfield interested in what we do in Emeryville?

Their lobbyist’s “toolkit” is already at work in our town.  Here are some examples of their possible tactics directly from their website: use your influence (behind closed doors) in order to get your message across because public meetings are so “adversarial” and “chaotic”.[1]  Create backchannels to City staff to see if that works.[2]  Find out if there are other community issues that could create a “quid pro quo” in order to peel off supporters.[3]  Reach out to local media.  Buy ad space.  And if none of that works, well, dump money and misinformation to mislead voters.  It’s this last “tool” that has already begun making its way to your mailbox before the election.

In a recent mailer sent to Emeryville residents, purportedly from “Citizens to Preserve Emeryville” (headquartered in Sacramento!), the scare tactics we expected were on full display, even suggesting that the Charter might one day be amended to give City Council Members a raise.  What the mailer fails to mention is that all Charter amendments go to the voters first.  Recent mandatory financial contribution disclosures show that “Citizens to Preserve Emeryville” has just one contributor, the National Association of Realtors, who has dumped $60,000 so far into this campaign.  That’s over $20,000 more than all Emeryville City Council candidates have raised combined!

Let’s set the record straight: Any changes to the charter would need to be approved by the voters first.  Transfer taxes do not make housing less affordable.  These funds can be used to help fund affordable housing.  The city’s ability to fund excellent services and amenities helps your real estate hold its value—real estate transfer taxes are your investment as a homeowner into the city.

Realize that the interests that are campaigning against these measures spread mistruths with no consequences—when residents want a dog park, when they need more services in town, when our growth calls for more infrastructure and affordable housing—these outside interests will have vanished and the City Council will be left with limited funds and the growing needs of our community.

The Emeryville City Council has been transparent, forward-thinking and responsive in its approach to doing what is right for the people of Emeryville.  That is exactly what leadership looks like in Emeryville and why voters should vote “Yes” on Measures U & V.

Sincerely,

Jac Asher

Mayor of the City of Emeryville

[1]      From their toolkit:  If a transfer tax surfaces, enlist the key contact people and possibly others versed on the issue to meet with council members prior to the public hearing on the tax.  In the privacy of the legislator‘s office, you will have his/her undivided attention, and the chances for meaningful dialogue are much better than at the public hearing where the process tends to be much more chaotic and adversarial.  Meetings prior to the hearing should provide your Association with some idea as to each councilperson‘s position on the tax.  If the vote appears close, the Association may want to concentrate its efforts on the members who constitute the “swing votes”.

[2]      Another “gem” from the toolkit: Establish working relationships with key staff people at the city[…]Many times, an idea such as a transfer tax emanates from the city staff, not the elected officials.   It is most advantageous to create an ongoing relationship with city staff (e.g., city manager, planning director, finance director), since these individuals may alert the Association to upcoming issues which will impact the real estate industry.

[3]      Their toolkit suggests:  Associations can utilize IMPAC funds to help establish a relationship with elected officials and their staff.  For example, IMPAC funds could be used to cover the costs of taking elected officials and staff to lunch on an ongoing basis as the Alameda Association of REALTORS® does.  The Association wants to establish a working relationship with their elected officials in a non-confrontational setting, and they want the city to know that they can be a resource when it comes to a host of issues relating to the community

Follow the Money: Emeryville's November Election Draws Sacramento Lobbying Group

Out-Of-Town Real Estate Interests Set Up Political Committee for Emeryville Election

Statewide Realtor Association Money Dump 
Special Moneyed Interests Work to Nix Local Control

Follow the Money; first in a series

The Tattler introduces a new feature for the 2014 election season: Follow the Money. 

This election cycle is shaping up to be very expensive and very far-flung with lots of money from out-of-town interests pouring into the city.  We plan on digging out and exposing this money from people and organizations we don’t know that are trying to change our town to their liking.  These unfamiliar individuals and interest groups may effect our November elections with all their spending in Emeryville but the Tattler is going to make sure that while they assert their influence, we’re going to expose who they are. 

Click on the 'Follow the Money' label at the bottom of this story or use the search bar to review the entire Follow the Money series.

Emeryville residents, get ready to get "IMPACed".
That being a big money dump from the California Association of Realtors political action committee to fight against a November election over local control of the town.
IMPAC, Issues Mobilization Political Action Committee, is the political action arm of the Sacramento based statewide Realtors Association, the State's top real estate lobbying group.
The issue at hand are two Emeryville ballot initiatives, both brought by unanimous consent of our City Council for a vote by the citizens November 4th; one being Measure U the Charter City Initiative, a local control initiative and the other Measure V, an initiative to establish a real estate transfer fee, the same fee charged by neighboring cities Alameda, Oakland and Berkeley.

The committee set up to fight both initiatives is calling itself "Citizens to Preserve Emeryville" and lists its Treasurer and Vice Treasurer as hailing from Sacramento and Oakland respectively.  The bank for  Citizens to Preserve Emeryville is in Roseville California.

Emeryville Chamber
of Commerce Vice Chair
Jason Crouch
His backing of the Realtors
subverted the will
of the Chamber. 

A check of the filing documents shows IMPAC has kicked off the spending on the Emeryville ballot initiatives with an initial drop of $20,000.  An extra $5,000 in "interboard solicitations" was also approved to fight Emeryville, IMPAC records showed.  With nearly unlimited resources available at the 160,000 member California Association of Realtors, more money could follow as the anti-Emeryville local control campaign progresses.

Chamber of Commerce's Interests Hijacked
The drama of the California Association of Realtors pushing their weight around Emeryville is further heightened by the unseemly spectacle of the Vice Chair of the Emeryville Chamber of Commerce, Vallejo resident Jason Crouch, hijacking the Chamber's wishes by joining the fight against U&V.  The Board of the Chamber of Commerce has voted to join with the City of Emeryville and endorse both Measures but Mr Crouch signed his name and he included his Vice Chair position on the Chamber Board to the ballot measure arguments against U&V.  
The ballot measure arguments for and against will be in the official Voters Guide printed by Alameda County appearing in voter's mailboxes later this month.

The Sacramento real estate group's chief argument against the charter city initiative (a municipal governance model referred to as 'local rule' or 'home rule') is that it will allow Emeryville citizens themselves to decide many functions of governance that Sacramento now dictates with Emeryville as a 'general law' city.  The actual vote in November will only give Emeryville residents local rule to the extent that they decide whether to initiate a real estate transfer fee.  As it stands now Emeryville misses out on the funds from these transfers that our neighboring cities collect.

The City Council has noted with the demise of the Emeryville Redevelopment Agency, an entity that formerly entailed 90% of the town, fully half of the city budget has been lost.  Infrastructure, parks, maintenance--the things City Hall builds for residents to retain the quality of life will be increasingly out of reach.  Further it should be noted that Sacramento gets to change the rules on general law cities moving forward.  That's what happened when the Redevelopment Agency was eliminated.  Without the local control that the charter city designation brings, Emeryville won't have a right to collect the same fees as the neighbors, putting our budget at risk.

Some are speculating the California Association of Realtors sees Emeryville's local control vote in November as potentially a landmark case, spurring other general law cities in California to became charter cities.