The Richmond City Council voted unanimously to approve a settlement in which the Chevron Corporation will pay the City of Richmond more than a half BILLION dollars in taxes over the next ten years. I was proud to vote in favor of this historic settlement, and in favor of the refinery tax measure that inspired Chevron to start negotiating fairly with the city over taxes. 

What happened?

I, along with other CIty Council members, voted back in June to place a measure known as the “Make Polluters Pay” refinery tax before voters in this year’s general election. 

During our August recess, Chevron initiated talks with the city and eventually offered to pay the city $550 million dollars over the next ten years rather than face the vote that would create the new tax. The City Council held special meetings yesterday and today to discuss the terms of that offer, hear public comment, and vote on it. The agreement was approved unanimously by the City Council this afternoon. In exchange for the $550 million payout from Chevron, the Council has agreed to instruct the County to remove the refinery tax measure from the ballot. You can read more about it in the agenda documents here and watch the meeting here once it is posted.

Even though I believe that Richmond residents would have voted in favor of the refinery tax, I think reaching an agreement with Chevron this week was a better strategy. We know for a fact that Chevron would have challenged the new tax in court, and they have more money to spend on lawyers than the city does. Fighting in court would have meant many years with no tax payments from Chevron, and there was a chance that our side would end up with nothing because of the bad decision of one judge. Once Chevron’s settlement offer reached the half billion dollar point, it seemed like a much better idea to accept that.

I want to thank Councilmembers Robinson and Jimenez and the Mayor for serving as an ad hoc committee to handle the start of these negotiations, and the city staff members who supported this whole process. This victory for Richmond also depended on the long-term work of environmental organizations and activists and the brilliant strategy developed by Communities for a Better Environment (CBE) and the Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN). Above all it is the people of Richmond who made this happen, by standing up and demanding what we deserve.

What’s next?

By signing this deal, the city will get over half a billion dollars. This money will help us keep important city services running, support projects that make Richmond more environmentally friendly, and save money for the future when the Chevron refinery might shut down and we lose that income. Taxing Chevron at an appropriate rate, as this agreement does, will help the city to better live up to our motto – The City of Pride and Purpose.