Comments on: Budget balancing proposal released, no new service cuts

By: len raphael

len raphael — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:09:07 +0000

Revenue raising: hire competent independent consultants to review and negotiate franchises with cable tv providers and trash disposal as they theoretically have done for vehicle towing. my sense is that Waste Managment runs circles around Oakland on the franchise. (that was certainly true years ago, i don’t know if still true but a conversation i just had with someone who knows the industry was laughing at all the ways trash companies make money off of cities. until the crash in recyclable prices, they made really good money in some cities).

By: len raphael

len raphael — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 05:30:32 +0000

Re another offset to the cost benefits of cutting alt side of street parking maids/men and automate enforcement via the street sweeper drivers: an unknown but substantial chunk of the enforcement ticket revenue comes from vehicles that are parked before or after the street sweeping truck passes by.

i’d love to only have to move my vehicle just before the sweeper comes by, and then move it back 3 minutes later.

By: len raphael

len raphael — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 08:35:51 +0000

Re expanding reliance on tax revenue from medical marijuana. A buddy from Mendocino was telling me that the biggest worry of all the growers up there is that marijuana gets legalized: prices fall, little guys get wiped out.

Oaksterdam going the way of the once thriving food processing industry in Oakland when frozen food ended canned food business.

By: Ralph

Ralph — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:20:54 +0000

Oakland screwed the pooch with parking. I really want to know why we do not collect meter revenue from street parking in the entertainment district at night.

By: len raphael

len raphael — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:50:22 +0000

Maybe RK is really on to something w her idea of embracing the entire medicinal pot industry. None of the uncertain demand for home green power and the need to overhaul our education system to teach the technical skills needed to manufacture and install.

Our families and local schools already are toprate at providing the young people with the skills and experience needed for successful dope production and sales.

By: Livegreen

Livegreen — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:08:20 +0000

I guess the Dapper Don won’t be bringing this up will he? Then again, he probably won’t have to…

By: len raphael

len raphael — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:06:12 +0000

maybe perata wants to be mayor of oakland as pennance for his raiders’ deal.
in further irony, he’d be coming into a situation where he’ll have to gut all of his union supporters and possibly their retirement benefits. now, why would anyone want to be mayor here for the next term?

-len raphael

By: Naomi Schiff

Naomi Schiff — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:41:15 +0000

In my opinion the Coliseum deal is definitely the nadir, Len, as are still paying for it through 2026 and it is an enormous drag on our city budget.

By: len raphael

len raphael — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:43:02 +0000

My impression is that in past private/public deals the city put up more than the real estate. they also put in money and might have cosigned the rehab loans. anyone know the economic history of the scotlan convention center?

or we could ask don perata what he’d do if he were mayor. he’s got plenty of experience from putting together the colliseum raider’s deal, which might be the nadir of oakland city public private partnering. (ok, maybe a tie with the bey loan)

By: len raphael

len raphael — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:03:33 +0000

Rbt, without knowing what the carrying costs of the hjc are, or the likely selling price, why would you sell it at firesale price when its really hard for buyers to get financing, and the proceeds are only going to get us thru part of the next year?

i”d look at this differently if i were a city employee, vendor, or ngo facing massive layoffs/cutbacks. or if i thought our revenues would bounce back to the old levels within two years, and it were just a matter of hanging on till then. but its more likely that the resale value of the hjc will go up then operating revenue rises. or if the sale would net us 100 mill.

-len raphael
temescal