RESOLUTION NO. _____
Resolution Of The City Council Of The City Of Emeryville Authorizing The Mayor To Issue An Administrative Subpoena To Grocery Outlet For Federal and State Tax Returns For 2021, 2022, and 2023
WHEREAS, on April 2, 2024, the City’s Finance Director sent a letter to Grocery Outlet requesting federal and state tax returns pursuant to Section 3-1.137 of the Emeryville Municipal Code for the purpose of determining or confirming the amount of business tax owed to the City; and
WHEREAS, on April 26, 2024, Grocery Outlet responded to the City’s letter but did not provide any tax returns; and
WHEREAS, On May 21, 2024, the City’s Finance Director sent a second letter to Grocery Outlet clarifying that the scope of the City’s audit was for Grocery Outlet’s business taxes for 2022, 2023, and 2024, and that the City requested state and federal tax returns, including all schedules, for the period from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2023; and WHEREAS, on June 21, 2024, Grocery Outlet responded by agreeing to provide federal and state tax returns for January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022 in a “read-only” electronic format until July 2, 2024; however, the documents could not be downloaded or printed; and
WHEREAS, the Finance Director sent Grocery Outlet a letter on July 17, 2024, stating that the City could not properly conduct its audit with the “read-only” tax returns and that if Grocery Outlet continued to refuse to provide its tax records in a format that was acceptable to the City, staff would ask the City Council to issue an administrative subpoena pursuant to Government Code section 37104 requiring Grocery Outlet to produce these tax returns; and
WHEREAS, the City gave Grocery Outlet thirty days, until August 16, 2024, to produce the records sought by the City, and, since Grocery Outlet failed to comply with the City’s request, staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution authorizing the Mayor to issue on behalf of the City Council an administrative subpoena to require the production of these documents pursuant to California Government Code section 37401; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, by the City Council of the City of Emeryville that the Mayor of the City of Emeryville is authorized to sign and issue in the name of the City Council of the City of Emeryville an administrative subpoena pursuant to California Government Code section 37104 requiring Grocery Outlet to produce its federal and state tax returns including all schedules for 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Docusign Envelope ID: 5767A833-8289-4FE8-99EB-41DA28FD2AA9 Resolution No. _____
Resolution Authorizing the Mayor to Issue An Administrative Subpoena City Council Meeting | September 3, 2024
ADOPTED, by the City Council of the City of Emeryville at a regular meeting held Tuesday, September 3, 2024, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
ABSENT:
MAYOR
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
CITY CLERK SPECIAL COUNSEL
Docusign Envelope ID: 5767A833-8289-4FE8-99EB-41DA28FD2AA9