text: Oakland Mayor Jean Quan vows to push parcel tax - SFGate
  https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-Mayor-Jean-Quan-vows-to-push-parcel-tax-2376494.php
  The day after three Oakland City Council members blocked Mayor Jean Quan's attempt to put an $80-per-parcel tax before voters, the mayor vowed to try again. Quan intends to schedule a meeting soon to bring the issue before the council a second time, the mayor's spokeswoman, Sue Piper, said.
  With a $46 million deficit on a $400 million budget, a tax that would bring in $11 million is essential, Piper said.
  Quan's attempt Tuesday to get the council to back her plan failed, in part, because she did not place it on the agenda in time to allow for the usual 10-day public notice. As a result, the only way the council could legally discuss the late-agenda item was if six of the eight council members agreed to make a special "urgency" finding.
  But council members Libby Schaaf, Ignacio De La Fuente and Desley Brooks refused to allow the discussion. They argued that open government and transparency require the normal period of notice, particularly on something as important as a tax.
  Quan wanted to get the item heard and voted on this week, because the law requires about three months for the special election to take place after a vote. The mayor wants the special election in July, so that if voters approve the taxes, the tax increase would appear on their November property tax bills.
  The council has to have two readings of the ordinance, a week apart, for an election to be called. They would have to be done by April 22 to qualify for a July 19 ballot, according to City Clerk LaTonda Simmons.
  Piper said she didn't know whether that was enough time to qualify for the November tax bill.
  However, Piper said that the mayor would push for the parcel tax even if the special election occurs too late in the year to include the tax on a November bill. If needed, the tax could be collected retroactively in 2012, Piper said. That would mean Oakland residents would see the parcel tax doubled in their spring 2012 bills to make up for November.
  "It's not what she really wants to do," Piper said. But, she added, Schaaf, De La Fuente and Brooks are forcing Quan's hand. "It's a technicality that's jeopardizing things."
  Schaaf says it's financially irresponsible to call for a mail-only ballot election. The special election would cost the city between $800,000 and $1 million.
  "I don't necessarily oppose a parcel tax," she said, adding that she didn't think it would pass anyway. "I oppose spending a million dollars of unbudgeted money to have an election."
  Complicating matters, the City Council may have to call a special election if they cannot agree on a replacement for City Attorney John Russo, who is expected to leave soon to take his new job as Alameda's city manager.
  If a council member is chosen, a special election would have to be called for that vacant seat as well. Rather than having numerous special elections, it might make sense to consolidate as many as possible, Schaaf said.