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

EMERGENCY CALL TO ACTION-Residents & Allies throughout Richmond and the Greater Bay Area! Come support the Richmond Community this Tuesday and Wednesday July 15 and 16.

TWO NIGHTS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Stop Chevron’s Secret Plan to Refine Heavier Crude in Richmond!

The Chevron Refinery expansion project in Richmond will build the capacity to refine much dirtier crude oil, which means more pollution, increased risk of explosions, fires, spills and releases of poisons into our air, our bay and our land. It’s a matter of life and death for refinery workers & residents in Richmond and the Greater Bay Area. Click here for more information

The City of Richmond has a choice. Will Richmond continue to be a global hub for pollution? Or will it define a new path with solutions that protect our health and the environment?

Join the Richmond Alliance for Environmental Justice to demand bold leadership by the Richmond City Council.

JULY 15 at Kennedy High School, 4300 Cutting Blvd, Richmond View Map

(just walking distance from El Cerrito del Norte BART)

6:15 pm - Vigil honoring lives lost and all who suffer from environmental disease

*please bring photos of loved ones lost to cancer & environmental disease

7:00 pm – City Council public hearing on the Chevron expansion. Public Comment will be taken. It may be very late in the evening, so make arrangements if possible!

JULY 16 at the City Council Chambers, 1401 Marina Way South, Richmond View Map

7:00 pm - City Council to question staff/consultants, deliberate and vote. We need to be there with signs!

WHATS AT STAKE:

• A vote to certify the flawed Environmental Impact Report
• A vote for complicity in Chevron’s cover up.
• A vote for secretly negotiated community benefits in exchange for a comprehensive crude cap
• A vote for selling our health down the river.

OUR DEMANDS:

• Recirculation of the Environmental Impact Report
• Comprehensive oil quality conditions (crude cap) as a pollution prevention measure to limit the type of oil entering the refinery
• Funds for the city to be community controlled in an open process
• A vote for the well being of the community and future generations

Buses to and from the hearing will be departing from locations within Richmond:
3rd & Chesley in North Richmond
Atchison & Liberty Village
St. Mark’s Church
To reserve seats on the bus and/childcare inquiries please contact:
Jessica Tovar 510-302-0430 ext 24 or 415-596-3517 jessica@cbecal.org
www.cbecal.org

*Needs: Childcare & Peacekeeping volunteers contact Jessica Tovar or for more information:
510-236-4616 or e-mail apen@apen4ej.org
www.apen4ej.org

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Write a Sample letter to City Council Members

DRAFT:

The health of our children and grandchildren is more important than a few million dollars for special projects selected without open public input.

Chevron told its investors on its 10K SEC filing that it intends to refine heavier crude oil in Richmond. Since the EIR failed to disclose this, it must be re-circulated. The conditional use permit must contain explicit restrictions on the quality of crude oil and gas oil that Chevron can refine, or else a heavy price will be paid by future generations.

Environmental justice principles require that strong preventive measures, including a comprehensive crude cap, are taken to protect our health, and that any funds generated for the city be community controlled in a fully open and transparent process.

If you have the courage to do the right thing, you will make history and you will be supported.

send to:

mayor@officeofthemayor.net City Council members
natbates@comcast.net c/o Trina Jackson
tom.butt@intres.com 1401 Marina Way South
lopez.ludmyrna@comcast.net Richmond, CA 94804
johnemarquez@aol.com
elirapty@aol.com
harpreet_sandhu@ci.richmond.ca.us
tonythurm@aol.com
maria_viramontes@ci.richmond.ca.us
Learn More at: http://www.justiceinnigerianow.org