Sponsored by
Councilmembers
Charlene Wang,
Carroll Fife,
Ken Houston, &
Rowena Brown
Illegal Dumping Expenditures
Action Plan
A series of proposed expenditures utilizing
funding that Council designated for
addressing illegal dumping.
ATTACHMENT C
Eradication
•Rental of lightning loader trucks—Large grapple-arm trucks that allow crews to clear large debris piles rapidly and safely -$190,000. •New and replacement debris-removal equipment—Such as a drop box, pickuptruck,and trailers to support daily field operations and expand capacity -$95,000. •Bulky Block Parties—Events where residents can dispose of large unwanted items for free, helping prevent illegal dumping -$90,000. •Aerbits, Inc. —Previously authorized by Council Resolution No. 91112 C.M.S. to more rapidly identify debris piles in the field for quicker eradication -$150,000.
Eradication and Enforcement
•Additional Staff Time Including OT —Strengthen zone-based proactive debris removal surges, support enforcement work: review camera images and data, install and relocate cameras, process and issue citations -$300,000. •Software, Applications, Subscription Services & Activations —Technology systems (software, applications) to improve data management for violations, and routing for eradication, including issuing and tracking citations and collecting penalties -$50,000.
Enforcement
•Hand-Held Devices —Purchase of technology (such as tablets) to improve data management for illegal dumping violations including issuing and tracking citations and collecting penalties for illegal dumping -$50,000. •Additional Cameras and Contract Enhancement —Purchase enhancements to contract with Security Lines U.S. for more cameras, solar powered cameras, and monitoring assistance -$75,000.
Education
•Community Outreach and Engagement —Grant to Oakland non-profit Keep Oakland Beautiful to assist with targeted community outreach and education to prevent dumping -$40,000. •Bulky Waste Outreach —Contract with local Oakland firm for outreach, education, and support around proper waste management and illegal dumping prevention with property managers and community organizations -$60,000.
Public Works and Transportation Committee May 12, 2026
AGENDA REPORT TO: Jestin D. Johnson FROM:Liam Garland City Administrator Director, Oakland Public WorksSUBJECT: Illegal Dumping Expenditure Plan DATE:April 20, 2026City Administrator Approval Date: RECOMMENDATION Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Acknowledging The Urgency And Expediting Actions To Remedy Illegal Dumping Through An Illegal Dumping Expenditures Action (IDEA) Plan: 1) Authorizing The City Administrator To A) Implement The IDEA Plan By Negotiating And Entering Into Contracts, Grant Agreements, And Expenditures As Set Forth In Table 1 In A Total Amount Not To Exceed $1,100,000; And B) Pursue Partnerships With County, Regional And / Or State Agencies To Enhance These Efforts; 2) Waiving, To The Extent Necessary, The City’s Advertising, Competitive Bidding, And Local /Small Local Business Enterprise Program Participation And Multi-Step Technology Acquisition Requirements For The Contracts; And Waiving The Local / Small Local Business Enterprise Program Requirement For The Big Truck Rental (Lightning Loader) Contract; 3) Appropriating And Allocating An Amount Not To Exceed $1,100,000 From Budgeted Funds In Fund 1720, Comprehensive Cleanup Fund, For These Purposes; 4) Accepting And Appropriating Additional Funds From Public And Private Sources And Authorizing The City Administrator To Actively Seek And Apply For Such Funds And To Amend Existing Contracts And / Or Enter Into New Contracts Consistent With The Purpose Of This Resolution And In Furtherance Of The Plan In A Total Amount Not To Exceed The Value Of Such Additionally Appropriated Funds; And 5) Directing The City Administrator To Return To Council Within One Year Of The Adoption Of This Resolution To Provide An Informational Report On Actions Taken, Funds Received And Expended, And Contracts Jestin Johnson (Apr 30, 2026 08:43:45 PDT)
Apr 30, 2026
Jestin D. Johnson, City AdministratorSubject: Illegal Dumping Expenditure Plan Date: April 20, 2026 Page 2 Public Works and Transportation Committee May 12, 2026
Awarded Pursuant To This Plan And The Authority Granted By This Resolution EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Illegal dumping is an urgent issue which harms our communities in many ways including damaging public health, impeding pedestrian access, undermining economic development and business success, causing environmental harm, and negatively impacting public safety. As one of several actions to address this, Oakland City Council appropriated $1,100,000 in its 2025 – 2027 adopted biennial budget, for the purposes of investing in innovative solutions to address illegal dumping. The Illegal Dumping Expenditure Action Plan (Plan) proposes utilizing this funding to initiate and supplement a series of new and existing education, eradication, and enforcement efforts to address this crisis. Proposed actions include: Contracting with an aerial camera company to locate piles of dumping for expedited remediation. Purchasing software and technology devices that will facilitate the process to issue and collect illegal dumping citations. Adding new and replacement equipment for crews that pick up illegal dumping. Authorizing additional staff time to pick up debris in the right of way and/or host bulky block parties for residents to bring large debris items for disposal. Adding additional capacity to the city’s existing contract with the vendor for its illegal dumping surveillance cameras for more technical assistance and purchasing solar powered cameras. Providing funds to community partner Keep Oakland Beautiful for their assistance with getting information to residents on bulky waste disposal services. Contracting with a consultant to do direct outreach to multifamily properties to educate and support their utilization of existing bulky waste disposal services. The Plan also authorizes the City Administrator to accept funding from public and private sources for the purposes of implementing technological solutions, engaging additional labor support, and supporting programs that directly address the illegal dumping crisis which disproportionately impacts the city’s frontline communities of color. Many residents in these neighborhoods experience the negative effects of piles of debris in their community on a daily basis. It is a priority of the city to address this issue so that all residents can live in dignity and safety. BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY Oakland spends millions of dollars annually on personnel, equipment, and debris disposal fees to address illegal dumping. The Public Works Department (OPW) alone has 50 budgeted staff assigned to its Keep Oakland Clean and Beautiful division, Illegal Dumping Unit (IDU). Staff from the IDU often spend up to seven days a week on assignments to remediate dumping in the public right of way and there are additional staff in the OPW Parks and Trees Services division who address illegal dumping in parks. In OPW’s Environmental Service Division, the Environmental Enforcement Unit (EEU) is comprised of 8 staff dedicated to catching illegal Jestin D. Johnson, City AdministratorSubject: Illegal Dumping Expenditure Plan Date: April 20, 2026 Page 3 Public Works and Transportation Committee May 12, 2026
dumpers, issuing citations, and engaging in other enforcement activities, such as ensuring businesses are signed up for mandatory trash service, that help reduce illegal dumping. While the current investment in resources to address illegal dumping is significant, there is still more that needs to be done to combat the problem. As such, the city is redoubling its efforts at a three-pronged approach known as the “Three Es: Eradication, Education, and Enforcement.” Efforts to eradicate debris by picking it up and disposing of it must be supported by new technological innovations and additional equipment and personnel resources. The city needs to invest in stronger and streamlined enforcement mechanisms including higher fines for dumpers, improved processes to ensure citations are paid, and additional technology tools and innovations to ensure that dumpers are caught. Educational programs and campaigns must be bolstered by new investment and convey a broad, citywide sentiment around social norms for the management of waste and include targeted outreach to residents who may need additional support and resources to access and utilize existing, appropriate waste disposal options. The Oakland City Council recently adopted several measures that underscore the city’s commitment to this issue including: Increasing fines for those who are caught dumping, holding vehicle owners responsible if their vehicle is used in a dumping case, and making it illegal to transport waste across the city without a license plate. Investing in new aerial camera technology to quickly and equitably spot illegal dumping piles and deploy crews for cleanup, approved per Resolution No. 91112 C.M.S. Supporting proposed state legislation that would allow the California Department of Motor Vehicles to collect unpaid illegal dumping fines and prohibit vehicle registration renewal until such fines are paid, approved per Resolution No. 91110 C.M.S. These actions along with other operational and policy initiatives provide a basis of support for the actions recommended in the Plan. ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES To bolster and enhance illegal dumping prevention efforts, the Plan proposes a series of newand/or supplemented actions, each of which falls into one of the “three Es” categories of Eradication, Eradication, and Enforcement as described below. Eradication Quickly removing piles of debris is the first line of defense in the battle against illegal dumping. Illegal dumping left on the streets often attracts additional dumpers, with some becoming popular recurring dump locations known as “hot spots.” To combat this, OPW crews endeavor to clean up materials as quickly as possible but the amount of personnel, available working hours, and functional equipment limit how much can be collected daily. The following actions are recommended to bolster existing resources. Aerial camera system and data analysis to track dumped trash, locations, volumes, and identify cleared locations, photos, clear complaints. On April 14, 2026 City Council authorized the City Administrator to enter into a contract with Aerbits, Inc. (approval per Resolution No. 91112 C.M.S.) to pilot test a new system to identify locations of illegal dumping with aerial imagery. This system, which has also been reviewed and approved by Jestin D. Johnson, City AdministratorSubject: Illegal Dumping Expenditure Plan Date: April 20, 2026 Page 4 Public Works and Transportation Committee May 12, 2026
the Privacy Advisory Commission through action taken on March 5, 2026, aims to more equitably and comprehensively locate debris piles along contiguous routes to more quickly notify KOCB crews of its location, create faster and more efficient clean up routes, and to record pre and post images of debris clearing for better tracking and closing of duplicate or outdated service requests. While already authorized through Council action, the item is noted here as the funding would come from the same budgeted allocation of funds as the other actions. Rent up to two “Lightning Loader” trucks and purchase additional equipment (e.g. pickup truck, trailer). Grapple loaders (also known as lightning loaders) are large trucks equipped with a grapple arm that can grab and load large quantities of debris. These are essential pieces of equipment that reduce manual labor and increase the rate at which crews can perform cleanup. OPW currently has two such vehicles in its fleet, however, they regularly need repair or maintenance, and one or more is often deployed to encampment intervention operations. Ensuring the KOCB crews have a working lightning loader to deploy for cleaning is critical to operations. Additionally, KOCB has identified the need for an additional pickup truck and trailers to transport smaller equipment to cleanup locations. Staffing, including overtime, to expand cleaning surges to clear illegal dumping comprehensively and proactively from hard-hit areas, zone-based deployment for remediation, and bulky block parties. In recent budget cycles there has been less funding available for additional staff time to supplement cleaning that occurs on the standard workday. Through authorizing funding of additional proactive cleaning work and/or hosting bulky block parties for residents to dispose of unwanted large items, crews will be able to target hard hit communities for additional eradication support and reduce the frequency of repeat dumping. Such staffing surges have been shown to make a visual impact in neighborhoods and reduce the backlog of service requests that typically slow the city’s response time. Education One of the identified best practices to help remedy illegal dumping is to ensure all community members are aware of and have access to proper waste disposal options. In addition to curbside waste pickup, the city offers bulky item curbside pickup and drop-off appointments through its mixed materials and organics franchise agreement with Waste Management. These services provide all residents (property owners and renters) with free disposal options for items such as furniture and mattresses, appliances, tires, and other large household debris items that are often found in illegal dumping piles. The city tracks usage of these appointments and has demonstrated that they are significantly underutilized by all residents, but more so by renters. Increasing awareness of and access to these services is an educational priority of the City. Citywide education and behavior change campaigns focused on litter reduction and preventing illegal dumping are another critical piece of the strategy. Such campaigns demonstrate citywide priorities, communicate behavioral norms, help residents learn about and access services, and foster a sense of common identity (such as being a community that prioritizes a clean environment), and civic pride. Litter reduction and dumping prevention campaigns in other communities have demonstrated significant behavior change outcomes around reducing littering and increasing proper waste disposal. Such campaigns can shift poor habits and practices into intentional, responsible waste management, and empower youth to be change leaders in their communities, and help ensure that underserved communities are given information about, and access to, free bulky waste removal services.
Jestin D. Johnson, City AdministratorSubject: Illegal Dumping Expenditure Plan Date: April 20, 2026 Page 5 Public Works and Transportation Committee May 12, 2026
This expenditure plan would expand the city’s educational efforts around illegal dumping with the following actions: Partner with Keep Oakland Beautiful (KOB) for community outreach and education. Community partners are critical for effective outreach and through this partnership, KOB, a local non-profit, would assist the city in promoting bulky waste services through a direct mail campaign and messaging at their events, as well as promoting other messages around preventing and reporting illegal dumping. Display ads, transit ads, posters, billboards. The city has already developed some promotional materials around bulky waste services that are currently being displayed at no cost on electronic kiosks and digital billboards around the city. This expenditure would expand the promotion of those message and content on preventing and reporting illegal dumping in transit ads and other media placement. Direct outreach to property managers and community organizations, and distribution of materials to post and share. To increase the use of the available no-cost, bulky waste disposal services this expenditure would provide direct outreach to residents, owners, and property managers of multi-family properties who are the customers who utilize these services the least. Outreach would include information on and assistance facilitating the use of existing bulky disposal services, education on proper waste disposal including recycling and composting, and information on how to report and prevent illegal dumping. Enforcement To enforce against those who dump litter and debris in the streets and public spaces requires first identifying those responsible for the dumping and then issuing and collecting fines and penalties. Multiple techniques are used to identify dumpers including locating identifying materials in piles of debris (such as a piece of mail), witness statements, photos and video submitted by witnesses and community members, and catching illegal dumpers on cameras such as those used by the OPW EEU. The camera technology used by OPW for such efforts has already been approved and authorized by the Privacy Advisory Commission and the Oakland City Council. The Plan would strengthen enforcement in multiple ways including adding additional camera units and improving the process by which by illegal dumping citations are issued, tracked, and fines are collected through the following recommended actions: Additional cameras, including solar-powered cameras, and related supports for the OPW illegal dumping camera system. This action will support deployment and relocation of additional surveillance cameras - currently OPW has only 35 cameras and hundreds of illegal dumping hot spots – including the introduction of solar powered cameras that do not rely on direct access to an electrical connection to function. Identifying live electrical poles can be a limitation to installing a surveillance camera where either such a pole does not exist or when OPW needs to wait for long periods of time for the electrical service to be restored. Solar-powered cameras may prove to be more mobile and relocatable. Additionally, this action would include expanding the city’s existing contract with the camera system vendor, Security Lines U.S. for additional technical support reviewing footage and troubleshooting camera technical issues. Technology, including hand-held devices and associated software, system updates, and training for Environmental Enforcement Officers. One of the primary enforcement challenges has been difficulties collecting monetary penalties associated with illegal Jestin D. Johnson, City AdministratorSubject: Illegal Dumping Expenditure Plan Date: April 20, 2026 Page 6 Public Works and Transportation Committee May 12, 2026
dumping citations. To increase their collectability, it is important to ensure that information is handled and tracked effectively from citation issuance, which originates in OPW, to the collection of unpaid bills which is managed by the Department of Finance. Funding for the purchase and activation of handheld devices, related software applications, and training for staff will ensure staff have a consistent and effective tool for entering, uploading, and processing citations and fine collection. This relatively small investment has the potential to reduce dumping as collectable fines are a much greater deterrent to illegal behavior.Staffing (including overtime) to expand installation and relocation of illegal dumping cameras; collection of unpaid fines; intake and processing of footage; and issuing citations. Current staffing to support the enforcement process is limited. The Environmental Enforcement Unit has had several vacancies for over two years, and one of its eight originally budgeted positions remains frozen due to budget shortfalls. Funding to support staff overtime work to both install cameras at new locations and review and process footage caught on those cameras will help the city is maximize its minimal staffing resources. The Illegal Dumping Expenditures Action Plan is shown as Table 1. Table 1 - Illegal Dumping Expenditures Action Plan Num. Category/Item Description Source Amount1 Eradication. Aerbits, Inc. PREVIOUSLY APPROVED (Resolution No. 91112 C.M.S., 4/14/26)Contract: Pilot technology to locate and track abandoned trash. Support equitable and effective removal. Contract and Use Policy with Privacy Advisory Commission. $150,000 2 Eradication. Lightning loader truck rental Contract: Rental of two lightning loader trucks to improve capacity for more immediate and extensive remediation. Ensures functional equipment available for operations staff. Specialized equipment, hard to find, and vital for strengthening illegal dumping removal. Company “Big Truck Rental” (BTR). Has location in Fresno, HQ in Tampa. $190,000 3 Eradication. Additional debris removal equipment (i.e. drop box, pickup truck, trailer)Contract: Purchase additionalequipment to support illegal dumping removal operations to increase capacity and ensure functional equipment for crews. Local business purchase$95,000 4 Eradication & Enforcement. Staff-time, including overtime Expenditure: Staff-time, including overtime, to remove additional illegal dumping, strengthen zone-based proactive debris removal surges, support enforcement work including: review camera images and data, provide information, install and relocate cameras, process and Local expenditure, Contracting-in. $300,000 Jestin D. Johnson, City AdministratorSubject: Illegal Dumping Expenditure Plan Date: April 20, 2026 Page 7 Public Works and Transportation Committee May 12, 2026
issue citations, and collect penalties for illegal dumping. 5 Eradication. Bulky Block PartiesExpenditure: Staff time to support Bulky Block Parties to offer Oakland residents no-cost opportunity to drop off large debris items.Local expenditure, Contracting-in. $90,0006 Eradication and Enforcement. Software, apps, subscription services & activations Expenditure: Activations, service and subscriptions for systems (software, applications) to improve data management for illegal dumping violations, and routing for remediation, including issuing and tracking citations and collecting penalties. Use of existing utility agreement with Verizon, activation/service.$50,000 7 Enforcement. Hand-held devicesExpenditure: Purchase of technology, (such as tablets), to improve data management for illegal dumping violations including issuing and tracking citations and collecting penalties for illegal dumping. Use of existing utility agreement with Verizon for acquisition. $50,000 8 Enforcement. Security Lines US, cameras and solar power Contract: Enhancements to camera system to catch illegal dumpers, including increases to Security Lines US cameras, and solar power. Use of existing contract, with SLUS, which was approved by Council per Resolution 90143 C.M.S. $75,000 9 Education. Keep Oakland Beautiful Grant: Award Keep Oakland Beautiful a grant to assist with targeted community outreach and education to prevent dumping.Local non-profit $40,000 10 Education. Community education and outreach contract.Contract: Community outreach and education with local firm to provide outreach, education, and support around proper waste management and illegal dumping prevention with property managers, community organizations. Local business $60,000Total: $1,100,000 In order to act with urgency to remedy illegal dumping, to enhance education, eradication, and enforcement with strengthened technology, equipment, personnel, and outreach, the Plan recommends that Council waive the applicable L/SLBE, RFP/Q, and multi-step solicitation process requirements for the rental of lightning loader trucks due to these vehicles not being available from any Oakland-based company. Furthermore, this Expenditure Plan does provide substantial funding at the local level and attains the policy goal of ensuring that 50% of expenditures remain in the local economy, to support our local community. In each case where a local option exists, it is utilized. For Jestin D. Johnson, City AdministratorSubject: Illegal Dumping Expenditure Plan Date: April 20, 2026 Page 8 Public Works and Transportation Committee May 12, 2026
example, a substantial portion of the funds will be used for the local city of Oakland workforce, thus supporting our local economy and keeping funds circulating for the well-being of our local community, through the use of “in-sourcing” much of the work. In addition, local contractors and local providers have been identified and are being utilized when possible, including, for example, the local non-profit Keep Oakland Beautiful and local outreach consultants. For the timely and coordinated acquisition of technology items, existing contracts would be used, including, for example, Verizon for hand-held devices (tablets) and activation. Verizon has multiple facilities within the City of Oakland. For enforcement cameras and solar power, an existing provider would be used, who has already been selected by the city and approved by the Council in a prior process. This would help ensure that the additional equipment would be compatible with the cameras Oakland has already purchased. When a needed item is unique or rare, and no Oakland provider exists, use of another provider will be allowed, in order to enable needed efforts. Specifically, lightning loader trucks (also known as Grapple trucks) are important pieces of equipment that make illegal dumping remediation substantially more efficient and rapid, and reduces risks and harms to the public and the workforce. No provider for such equipment is found in Oakland. It is also recommended that the City Administrator is expressly authorized to seek and apply for additional funds from public and private sources that fund actions that support the Plan. Finally, it is recommended that the city pursue partnerships and support with county, regional and/or state agencies in furtherance of these efforts. By taking action to remedy illegal dumping, hold violators accountable, and reduce the amount abandoned trash, this Plan can help improve Oakland both economically and environmentally. The proposed actions are intended to create a healthier and more welcoming environment by protecting people, waterways, air, neighborhoods, and parks from harmful pollutants and runoff, and strengthen our economy by supporting and attracting residents, businesses, and visitors, and enhancing conditions for the city workforce. WAIVER RATIONALE A waiver of the city’s advertising, competitive bidding, and Local/Small Local Business Enterprise Program is requested for the rental of up to two “Lightning Loader” trucks as there are no local vendors who rent these pieces of equipment. Lightning loader trucks, also known as grapple trucks, are highly specialized pieces of equipment that are stocked and/or sold by a limited number of vendors. The selected vendor, Big Truck Rental, is headquartered in Tampa with a California location in Fresno. The rental of the equipment will be for a limited duration while the city seeks funding to purchase one or more of these vehicles for its fleet. As mentioned above, a lightning loader truck is an important piece of equipment that makes illegal dumping remediation substantially more efficient and rapid and reduces risks and harms to the public and the workforce.
Jestin D. Johnson, City AdministratorSubject: Illegal Dumping Expenditure Plan Date: April 20, 2026 Page 9 Public Works and Transportation Committee May 12, 2026
RELATED PLANNING EFFORTS The recommended actions in the proposed Plan will help to more equitably and effectively remove abandoned trash from streets, sidewalks, and other public spaces, deter and prevent violations, and help the public better access services for proper waste disposal. As such the Plan will help support and enhance City Council adopted Strategic Planning efforts including: Equitable Climate Action Plan (ECAP) This Plan supports several goals of the ECAP including: "Support the Reuse, Repair, Recovery, and Refurbishment Economy" by providing for better materials recovery, deterring dumping which causes deterioration of otherwise reusable items, and promoting effective collection and reuse of items and materials. "Evaluate and Reduce Climate Impacts of City Expenditures and Operation” by providing for more accurate, equitable, and geographic zone-based deployment for remediation, as well as use of more efficient equipment, thus reducing driving time, fuel use, and Vehicle Miles Traveled. Additionally, by making the public rights of way cleaner and easier to navigate, this plan removes impediments to walking, biking, and public transit use. Economic Development Action Plan (EDAP) By enhancing conditions for business attraction and development, this Plan supports the goals of Oakland's Economic Development Action Plan, including: "Facilitating investment in key business corridors and under-resourced neighborhoods, ensuring that the built environment supports economic activity and sustained community well-being" by engaging in targeted, equitable and efficient removal of abandoned trash from hard-hit communities "Position Oakland as a competitive, innovation-driven economy," by investing in innovative systems and more effective technologies. FISCAL IMPACT The funding for these proposed actions has been budgeted by Council in Fund 1720 as part of the FY 2025-2027 Adopted Biennial Budget. There is no impact on the City’s General-Purpose Fund. A breakdown of the appropriated project funding sources is included in Table 2: Table 2: Project Funding Sources Fund Source Organization Project Program Amount1720 –Comprehensive Clean-Up 30686 –Environmental Services, Environmental Enforcement Program 1005964 –Illegal Dumping Surveillance SC17 –Recycling and Solid Waste$150,0001720 –Comprehensive Clean-Up 30686 –Environmental Services, 1005964 –Illegal Dumping SurveillanceSC17 –Recycling and Solid Waste$850,000 Jestin D. Johnson, City AdministratorSubject: Illegal Dumping Expenditure Plan Date: April 20, 2026 Page 10 Public Works and Transportation Committee May 12, 2026
Environmental Enforcement Program 1720 –Comprehensive Clean-Up 30111 –Director’s Office 1008219 –Illegal Dumping Education NB35 –Keep Oakland Clean and Beautiful$100,000Total Project:$1,100,000PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST Public outreach and community input regarding the proposed resolution has come from multiple sources, including many strong expressions of community interest in preventing and remedying illegal dumping. The proposed expenditures respond to many requests the city has received for greater investment in addressing illegal dumping, including most recently and notably a meeting of Faith in Action East Bay meeting at Allen Temple Baptist Church with many hundreds of participants. Calls to action have included requesting the city to spend additional resources to pick up more debris quickly and efficiently, to catch and fine dumpers, and to support community needs around proper debris disposal. The resolution suggests a series of actions that respond to these repeated requests from the community. COORDINATION Coordination on the actions recommended in this resolution has included Oakland Public Works, the Finance Department, the City Administrator’s Office, the Department of Race and Equity, the Office of the City Attorney, and the Mayor’s Office. This report and legislation have been reviewed by the Office of the City Attorney and the Budget Bureau. RACE AND EQUITY Illegal dumping has been concentrated disproportionately on lower-income neighborhoods, and especially in Black and Latino communities. The dumped piles of waste create blight, attract nuisance and crime, worsen public health, neighborhood ambiance, and public safety, cause environmental harm, and undermine respect for impacted communities. By helping to prevent and remedy illegal dumping, the actions proposed in the resolution will help alleviate some of these inequities. In the recently adopted Illegal Dumping Enforcement Ordinance staff worked with the Department of Race and Equity to ensure the ordinance is applied equitably across Oakland. This includes asking the City Administrator to establish mechanisms to measure enforcement and penalties in priority areas, and a requirement to report back to City Council with information about fines issued, the cost of enforcement, and cost of collections related to priority areas identified in the Geographic Equity Toolkit [placeholder for link]. These steps will be critical to ensuring equity as the systems to track and ensure collection of illegal dumping citations are improved. The City Administrator was also directed by Council to build out a no-cost, community Jestin D. Johnson, City AdministratorSubject: Illegal Dumping Expenditure Plan Date: April 20, 2026 Page 11 Public Works and Transportation Committee May 12, 2026
service in lieu of payment option for the resolution of fines from an illegal dumping citation. This will ensure that enforcement does not create an undue burden on a violator who cannot afford the fine amount. The proposed actions include the introduction of a technology to strengthen removal of dumping from hard-hit areas by pilot testing a mechanism, Aerbits, Inc., to deploy crews for cleaning that does not rely on a complaint-based system. Such systems tend to favor more highly resourced communities and worsen inequities. The removal of waste materials should not be reliant on a resident being sufficiently resourced to call in a complaint. If found to be effective, staff will seek resources to expand the Aerbits system citywide with a focus first on those communities disproportionately impacted by dumping. The expenditure plan also includes improved removal of abandoned trash, through both enhanced staff time for geographically-targeted overtime deployments to remove waste from hard-hit neighborhoods, especially those identified as suffering from inequitable disproportionate impacts, and also includes equipment, such as Lightning Loaders, which strengthen the speed and effectiveness of these efforts. Another inequity which has been identified is regarding access to and usage of free bulky waste removal services. The city offers free bulky item curbside pickup and drop-off appointments through its mixed materials and organics franchise agreement with Waste Management. Data from the program, however, shows that it is significantly underutilized, with the least usage by residents of multi-family properties. In addition, data shows it is disproportionately under-used by Spanish-speaking communities, and by those in East and West Oakland. Thus, highly impacted communities, disproportionately communities of color and lower-income communities, are under-served by the free bulky waste removal program. This expenditure plan works to help remedy this inequity by expanding community outreach, education, and direct support for the use of this free debris disposal service, especially for under-served communities, and in multiple languages, with a focus on the areas which have been underserved, and on those in apartments for whom the service has been under-utilized. ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL Staff recommends that the city council adopt a resolution acknowledging the urgency and expediting actions to remedy illegal dumping through an illegal dumping expenditures action (idea) plan: 1) Authorizing the City Administrator to a) implement the IDEA plan by negotiating and entering into contracts, grant agreements, and expenditures as set forth in Table 1 in a total amount not to exceed $1,100,000; and b) pursue partnerships with county, regional and/or state agencies to enhance these efforts; 2) Waiving, to the extent necessary, the city’s advertising, competitive bidding, and local /small local business enterprise program participation and multi-step technology acquisition requirements for the contracts; and waiving the local / small local business enterprise program requirement for the Big Truck Rental (lightning loader) contract; Jestin D. Johnson, City AdministratorSubject: Illegal Dumping Expenditure Plan Date: April 20, 2026 Page 12 Public Works and Transportation Committee May 12, 2026
3) Appropriating and allocating an amount not to exceed $1,100,000 from budgeted funds in fund 1720, Comprehensive Cleanup Fund, for these purposes; 4) Accepting and appropriating additional funds from public and private sources and authorizing the City Administrator to actively seek and apply for such funds and to amend existing contracts and/or enter into new contracts consistent with the purpose of this resolution and in furtherance of the plan in a total amount not to exceed the value of such additionally appropriated funds; and 5) Directing the City Administrator to return to Council within one year of the adoption of this resolution to provide an informational report on actions taken, funds received and expended, and contracts awarded pursuant to this Plan and the authority granted by this resolution. For questions regarding this report, please contact Kristin Hathaway, Assistant Director, Oakland Public Works, at (510) 238-7571. Respectfully submitted, LIAM GARLAND Director, Oakland Public Works Prepared by: Kristin Hathaway, Assistant Director Public Works Department Prepared by: Rebecca Kaplan Project Manager City Administrator’s Office