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RICHMOND — As half a billion dollars from Chevron start to flow into Richmond’s coffers, city leaders want to know exactly how residents would like to see that money spent.
To get those answers, councilmembers have agreed to set aside up to $300,000 to contract out support that would facilitate community feedback. A central goal of the initiative, approved during a meeting Tuesday, is to develop a “just transition” away from the fossil fuel industry while ensuring community buy-in for how the dollars are spent.
“We’re in that moment where we actually do have to be as careful and as thoughtful as we can to make decisions for the future,” said Vice Mayor Doria Robinson, who drafted the item with Councilmember Claudia Jimenez and Mayor Eduardo Martinez. “We’re making a huge turning point for our city if we do it right. Or we can do it like the way people who win the lottery, go out and buy a bunch of fancy things and then be broke in 10 years.”
The $550 million Richmond is poised to collect stems from an agreement it negotiated with the Richmond Chevron Refinery. In exchange for the funds, the council agreed to remove a tax measure, dubbed the Make Polluters Pay campaign, from the November 2024 ballot. If approved by voters, the measure would have brought in between $60 million and $90 million annually by charging Chevron for every barrel of raw material that was processed at the plant.
Representatives from the two local nonprofit organizations behind the Make Polluters Pay campaign – Asian Pacific Environmental Network Action and Communities for a Better Environment – endorsed the councilmembers’ plan during Tuesday’s meeting.
“The additional and hard won $550 million is a chance for Richmond to both fully fund the crucial improvements in the neighborhoods and help build that just economy independent of the fossil fuel industry,” said Emma Ishii, a local policy coordinator with the Asian Pacific Environmental Network.
Members of the public who spoke on Tuesday also backed the plan, but some alternatively said they did not want an outsider without a historical understanding of Richmond dictating the outreach process or how the dollars are kept and spent.
Councilmember Jamelia Brown, the only councilmember to vote against the measure, said spending $300,000 on the effort “seems crazy.” She asked that the maximum contract amount be reduced but was denied by her colleagues after City Manager Shasa Curl said a project with such a wide scope may require the support of multiple firms.
The firm or firms leading the project will be asked to develop a scientific approach to widely surveying the public. But councilmembers are also interested in developing investment strategies while expanding on a preliminary expenditures framework that would see funds go toward large scale projects that would generate new tax revenue, efforts the provide direct support to residents, projects proposed and developed by residents, improvements to city services and increasing staffing in areas that further the goals of the funds.
Brown shared concerns the project would result in a report that will go unused, and questioned how the city would ensure all Richmond voices were heard. Brown said those behind the Make Polluters Pay campaign are “amazing stakeholders,” but they don’t represent the entirety of Richmond.
As representative of District 1, a historically socioeconomically disadvantaged part of town, Brown said her constituents are more likely to say public safety, clean streets and youth programming are more of a concern than air quality.
“I really want us to get real about our relationship with Chevron. It’s like a person we say we don’t want to be with but we’re constantly accepting gifts and money from,” Brown said. “We say we want this just transition. We want to move away from Chevron. But we’re constantly in tango with Chevron time and time again.”
In a separate item on the Tuesday agenda, Councilmember Cesar Zepeda proposed the city seek public input on what to do with the settlement funds using only city staff and existing resources. Zepeda said he’s already been meeting with community members and argued the funds spent on contracting out services could go to other important issues.
A majority of councilmembers, including Zepeda, ultimately agreed to find a third-party contractor after finance department staff explained that the city did not currently have the capacity or the expertise to lead the project.
Councilmember Soheila Bana said she was confused by the measure and abstained from voting. She had previously argued the city needed to provide the community with more information before asking them to weigh in on a strategy for holding and spending the money.
Recognizing concerns around equitable and unbiased outreach, Councilmember Sue Wilson also requested that whatever firm is selected returns to the council to detail their community engagement plan.
“All individuals and all community groups should be equally treated regardless of whether they played a role in (the Make Polluters Pay campaign),” Wilson said.
Eager to begin the process, councilmembers asked that a request for proposals be issued as soon as possible. Other initiatives will likely need to be deprioritized to meet the council’s demands, Curl said. Staff will give the council an update on the process in March, she added.
Meanwhile, what funds the city receives from the settlement with Chevron will remain in an investment fund until a plan for what to do with the money is complete. So far, the city has received one $50 million payment.
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Sierra Lopez
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