The Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA) has called for a rally at the Contra Costa County Administrative offices to protest the appeal of Chevron’s tax assessment.

Protest Chevron’s Tax Grab

651 Pine Street, Martinez

Thursday December 15, 2011

11:30 AM – Gather and Leaflet Area

12 Noon Rally

RPA says:

“The Chevron Corporation is currently appealing its property tax assessment and trying to get the county to pay them a refund of $150 million dollars at hearings in Martinez. If ordered to pay these refunds, County, City, and school districts would have to slash vital health, education and public services and lay off employees.”

“Chevron, which has long had reduced property taxes thanks to loop holes in Proposition 13, is able to hire an army of expensive lawyers to try to bully the county into accepting a settlement. Community groups, unions, and everyone who cares about justice say it is time to stop the 1% from bleeding the rest of us. We are the 99%, Chevron is the 1%!”

The Richmond City Council Resolution asking Chevron to drop its property tax appeals notes the following:

• Chevron Corporation. (formerly Standard Oil) has successfully operated an oil refinery in Richmond since 1904, thus contributing to the corporation’s high profitability for over 100 years

• Chevron declares that it wants to be a good neighbor to Richmond and Contra Costa County residents

• Chevron has posted record profits in each of the last five years, and its profits of $7,830,000,000 ($7.83 billion) for the third quarter of 2011 are double its profits for the third quarter of 2010

•  Chevron’s charitable contributions to worthy local organizations in 2010 amounted to $3.7 million, which represents a mere 0.047% of the profit it made in just three months

• These cuts would inevitably result in the layoffs of city, county, school district, fire and water, etc. workers at a time when we are already experiencing record unemployment and the worst recession since the 1930’s Depression

• These layoffs would result in less income available to purchase goods and services contributing to a downward economic spiral damaging our business community

• Chevron has stated it wants to maintain good a good relationship with Richmond and that it specifically wants to help ameliorate the very problems that the cuts triggered by its potential refunds would exacerbate

• If Chevron were to withdraw all of its property tax appeals it would remain a highly successful and profitable corporation and would experience no negative consequences

• The Richmond City Council respectfully asks Chevron Corporation. to withdraw and dismiss all of its property tax appeals on past years’ assessments and pay the full amount due on current and future property tax assessments for the Richmond refinery.

Read the full resolution by the Richmond City Council

Get the flyer for the protest and rally

JINN is supportive of the Move Your Money campaign that has encouraged hundreds of thousands of people to shift their funds out of big banks to an institution that supports the local community. If you didn’t do it before November 5th, don’t worry, every day is a good day to move your money! After hearing a lot of people in the Bay Area recommending  Mechanics Bank as a possible alternative, we realized that we needed to share with you why JINN closed its account at Mechanics in 2009.

You may remember there was a multiyear dispute between residents who live near the Richmond refinery and Chevron which wanted to expand its expand its facility to refine heavier dirtier crude oil, which would further pollute an area where the local community already suffers disproportionately high rates of asthma, cancer and other illnesses. Eventually, the local residents and the community groups that support them won their case when two judges sided with them. However, while the dispute was still raging, Mechanics Bank sent its clients a letter in support of Chevron, which it also published as an open letter. We’re posting the contents and linking to a copy of it here so that you can make a fully informed decision when you think about moving your money in the Bay Area.

August 5, 2009

~ Mechanics Bank
Commitment That Lasts Generations
An Open Letter to Chevron and the City of Richmond
From Mechanics Bank

For almost 100 years, Mechanics Bank has proudly called Richmond its home. As an organization that is committed to helping build prosperous communities as their trusted financial partner, we have always supported Richmond’s businesses, non-profits, and provide employment to many of its residents. In the spirit of that commitment, we add our voice today to the growing chorus of those calling for an end to the impasse over Chevron’s refinery upgrade project. Richmond, which calls itself the “City of Pride and Purpose,” is in danger of losing both if it cannot find a way to reach a swift and equitable agreement that allows it to move forward.

With the city’s unemployment at its highest level since the Great Depression – estimated to exceed 17% -and the state’s financial difficulties about to lead to a loss of millions from its redevelopment funds, Richmond is facing one of its greatest challenges. By bringing the refinery project to a halt, Communities for a Better Environment and its allies may think they have won the day, but from our viewpoint, it appears to be a hollow victory. A century of serving this community has taught us that opportunities such as that posed by the Chevron plant upgrade don’t come along very often–and they are especially rare in a time of recession. A failure to find a compromise that is fair to all would squander a chance to revive Richmond’s struggling economy, and likely would eliminate future jobs and prosperity, too. Because no agreement was reached, more than 1100 local workers have lost their jobs. Their families have lost healthcare and other benefits. The city itself stands to lose over $61 million in promised community benefits to support a variety of much-needed programs. From job training for low-skill workers to funding that bolsters desperately needed police and fire services, from support for free and subsidized health services to construction of the missing link of the Bay Trail, and much, much more, Richmond comes out a loser.

Worst of all, the reason given for opposing Chevron’s plant upgrade doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Despite opponents’ claims of environmental degradation, the City of Richmond, the State Attorney General’s office, and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District concluded after four years of review that the refinery upgrade would actually reduce emissions!

We did not speak with Chevron prior to preparing this letter, nor did they request that we take a position on the dispute. But given our deep roots in this community we felt it was imperative to speak out. Richmond has been a big part of the growth and success of Mechanics Bank, for which we will always be grateful. Together, we’ve survived the Great Depression and a dozen other boom-and-bust cycles. We have always believed in a bright future for this city, but if the naysayers kill this opportunity, it may well be decades before Richmond makes up what it will have lost.

It is imperative for our community that all parties reach a swift, reasonable resolution so that Richmond and its citizens can get back to work quickly.

Sincerely
Steven K. Buster
President and Chief Executive Office

cc:
Mike Coyle
Manager
Chevron Richmond Refinery
Chevron Corporation
P. O. Box 6076
San Ramon
CA 94583

Gayle McLaughlin
Mayor
City of Richmond
450 Civic Center
Richmond
CA 94804

Judy Morgan
President
Richmond Chamber
of Commerce
3925 Macdonald Ave.
Richmond
CA 94805

Bill Gallegos, Executive Director
Nile Malloy, NorCal Program Director
Communities for a Better Environment
Oakland Office
1440 Broadway, Suite 701
Oakland, CA 94612

Hilltop Office
3170 Hilltop Mati Road• Richmond, (A 94806
1.800.797.6324 PHONE’ www.mechbank.com

PDF of scanned letter

Reuters posting of letter

Find a credit union

By: Rachel Waldholz | October 23, 2011 – 2:06 pm

Re-posted from the Richmond Confidential

Chevron’s Richmond refinery, seen from Nichol Hill. The company argues that it has paid too much in property taxes on the facility. (photo by: Robert Rogers)

Chevron will present its case for a $58 million tax refund before an appeals board on Monday, as the company seeks to prove that it overpaid property taxes on its Richmond refinery between 2007 and 2009.

The hearing before the County’s Assessment Appeals Board – which listens to the cases of property owners who believe that the county has overvalued their land and thus charged too much in taxes — represents the next step in a four-year battle. Chevron believes the county has overvalued its Richmond refinery by nearly $2 billion per year, a company spokesperson said in an email.

If the company succeeds in its appeal, it would create a “brutal situation” for the county and cities, Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin said.

“The city of Richmond stands to lose millions of dollars if this appeal is approved,” McLaughlin said, adding that the city would have to cut services to pay back the money.

County Assessor Gus Kramer, who has held the position since 1995, called the case a “phenomenon.”

“It is record setting,” he said. “It’s the largest appeal we’ve ever had.”

Full article

Photograph caption: Chronicle 2009 Chevron Refinery;  photo credit: Liz Hafalia
image source: http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-03-05/bay-area/18376605_1_chevron-and-other-oil-business-license-tax-richmond-refinery

Emem Okon at True Cost of Chevron Press Conference before 2011 Chevron Shareholders meeting

I am here to represent the women of the Niger Delta who live in communities near gas flares and who suffer health issues of infertility, early menopause, miscarriages, cancer, rashes; women who fish in waters polluted by Chevron; who drink Chevron polluted water because there is no other source of drinking water; women whose traditional means of livelihood of farming and fishing have been destroyed by Chevron oil business activities; the women who confronted Chevron years back over the injustice perpetrated by Chevron in their communities. Chevron claims to recognize the value of fresh water as a fundamental social, environmental and economic resource but Chevron pollutes the fresh water in the Niger Delta with impunity. I have questions from the Niger Delta women: WHEN WILL CHEVRON STOP ENVIRONMENTAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN? WHEN WILL CHEVRON STOP THE TOXIC FLARES IN THE NIGER DELTA? WHEN WILL CHEVRON STOP DESTROYING THE HEALTH AND WELL BEING OF THE WOMEN IN THE NIGER DELTA REGION? If Chevron is not ready to stop the toxic flares, Niger Delta Women say:  ‘LEAVE THE OIL IN THE SOIL’

- Emem Okon, May 24, 2011

At a press conference today in San Francisco, Emem Okon from Nigeria and over one dozen community leaders from Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Alaska, Texas, across California, and more gathered at a Chevron gas station to expose the harms of Chevron’s operations in the communities where they live and advocate. See JINN’s photography from the event and  join JINN at the protest tomorrow at Chevron’s corporate headquarters to support those whose lives have been harmed by Chevron’s outdated practices.

All photos:  Todd Sanchioni

The oil industry is more powerful today than at any other time in history save the early 20th century. Thanks to last year’s record run-up in oil prices, seven of the world’s most valuable corporations are now oil companies. Yet just one of those companies has become the focus of intense consumer ire.

Perhaps the largest coordinated activist campaign in history is being launched against the San Ramon-based Chevron Corporation. Foregoing boycotts and other traditional market campaign techniques, non-governmental organizations are creatively communicating the business case for why Chevron should change its ways, focusing on mobilizing company shareholders and consumers to compel the company to come clean and pursue social and environmental leadership.

This unprecedented campaign to make Chevron the poster child of corporate irresponsibility has already persuaded pension funds in California, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania to consider selling a total of $12 billion in Chevron shares on the grounds that the firm is mismanaging its operations around the globe. The prime focus of this ongoing anti-Chevron effort has been the company’s annual shareholder meetings, but protests at the Richmond refinery and a series of movie and PR stunts have been also been effective tactics….Read full article

Nigeria Section of article:

Nigeria may represent Chevron’s toughest challenge yet. What happens in Nigeria could have major impacts on future operations in a continent destined to become the top oil producer for the United States in the coming decades. In fact, Africa already supplies the United States with more oil than the Middle East.

Nigeria’s population of 150 million people makes it the most populous country in Africa. The country is torn by cultural and religious strife. The north is predominately Muslim and has traditionally dominated governing structures. The south is comprised primarily of poor Christian populations living near the oil reserves in the Niger Delta, a former fishing community. These southerners traditionally have not had much voice in governmental affairs.

Oil operations have decimated fish populations, interrupting the traditional way of life in the Niger Delta. Many villagers write long detailed letters to Chevron about the impacts oil operations have on their lives — but they never get a response. Chevron employees live in barricades so they have no interaction with the local population. As of late, villagers have become armed and steal oil — locals call it “bunkering” — and Chevron has begun to bribe armed rebels to allow oil to get to market, further entrenching a culture of corruption in Nigeria.

“Oil is so lucrative that a web of mysterious relationships between oil companies, the government, militants, and communities has evolved,” said Laura Livoti, founder of Justice in Nigeria Now, and a longtime activist and radio reporter. Without her group, the issues surrounding oil and this troubled African country would never make the news and become part of the ongoing dialogue about how to reform Chevron and other oil companies operating there. The media tends to ignore what happens in this part of the world, but Livoti’s group, with a staff of two, is determined to change that.

Earlier this year, for example, 20,000 villagers were displaced during a government-backed crackdown funded by Chevron. “No humanitarian aid was allowed, no journalists, no human-rights observers. Military rogues blew up facilities, which shut down the oil industry. Things got so bad, Chevron pulled out all non-essential employees,” Livoti said.

It was this development that prompted the government to offer an amnesty program for militants this past May. While many balked, a large number have come forward to accept amnesty, except the militants most committed to political ideals as well as genuine solutions to local poverty.

The militants and ongoing corruption in Nigeria complicates things. “When the Nigerians were peaceful protestors, it was a lot easier to gain sympathy,” acknowledged Livoti. “Now that an armed resistance as risen up in Nigeria, attracting sympathy — and financial support — is much more difficult,” she said.  Read Full article

Climate Activists Say Chevron and Other Climate Polluters Have No Business Dictating Climate Policy

San Francisco, CA – A broad coalition of organizations from up and down the west coast arrived in force today to deliver a strong message to US lawmakers and polluting corporations that are decimating our prospects of meaningful climate solutions.

The protest rally started at 11:00am today at the San Francisco office of Senator Barbara Boxer (1700 Montgomery St., SF), chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that will be presenting a Climate and Energy Bill currently in Congress by the end of the week.

“If Congress wants to protect the public interest, they would never consider adopting the current climate bill (the American Clean Energy & Security Act) that was written by big oil and energy corporations in the first place”, said Carla Pérez of the Movement Generation Justice & Ecology project, “Cap and Trade legislation coupled with direct subsidies to oil, coal, nuclear, bio-fuels and incinerator industries will only serve to add hundreds of toxic smokestacks in our backyards.”
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