Public Works and Transportation Committee July 14, 2026 AGENDA REPORT TO:Elizabeth LakeFROM:Liam Garland Acting City Administrator Director, Oakland Public WorksSUBJECT:City Responses to 2025-2026 Alameda County Civil Grand Jury Report DATE:June 25, 2026 City Administrator Approval Date: RECOMMENDATION Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Authorizing The Council President To Submit A Response On Behalf Of The City Council To The 2025-2026 Alameda County Civil Grand Jury Report EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The 2025-2026 Alameda County Civil Grand Jury Final Report (Attachment A), issued June 15, 2026, included one section concerning the City of Oakland (City) entitled “Illegal Dumping in Oakland.” The City Administration’s responses to the Grand Jury report’s findings and recommendations are included in Attachment B. The City Administrator’s Office recommends authorization of the Council President to submit the proposed response to the Alameda County Civil Grand Jury on behalf of the City Council and the City Administration. The City is thankful for the Grand Jury’s work on the issue of illegal dumping and is pleased to see that their recommendations align with the recommendations and actions from the City’s own Illegal Dumping Expenditures Action Plan (Action Plan), included in Attachment C as further discussed below. BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY On June 15, 2026, the Alameda County Civil Grand Jury issued its 2025-2026 Alameda County Grand Jury Final Report (Grand Jury Report) with a section entitled, “Illegal Dumping in Oakland” (see Attachment A). The Grand Jury Report included findings and recommendations that were directed to the City Administration as well as the City Council for response. Responses are due 90 days after the report’s public release. Prior to the Grand Jury Report, on May 5, 2026, the City approved the Illegal Dumping Enforcement Ordinance, which increases penalties for illegal dumping violators, makes it easier Betsy Lake (Jul 1, 2026 18:31:48 PDT)
Jul 1, 2026
Elizabeth Lake, Acting City AdministratorSubject: City Responses to 2025-2026 Civil Grand Jury Report Date: June 25, 2026 Page 2 Public Works and Transportation Committee July 14, 2026 for the City to issue citations, holds people accountable if they allow their vehicles to be used for illegal dumping, and makes it an offense to transport waste in a vehicle without a license plate. Also, prior to the Grand Jury Report, on May 19, 2026, the City approved the Action Plan (Attachment C). The action plan funds and authorizes a comprehensive set of actions to strengthen education, eradication, and enforcement of illegal dumping. Items funded in the Plan include trucks and equipment for more effective removal of abandoned trash, hand-held electronic devices to enhance issuance and collection of illegal dumping citations, additional enforcement cameras, innovative technology to more accurately track dumping, free “Bulky Block parties” for residents to dispose of their excess waste, and staff time and training to implement these actions. ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES The City Administrator’s Office and staff in Oakland Public Works (OPW), prepared responses to the Grand Jury Report’s findings and recommendations, included as Attachment B, and worked together with the Council President’s office to put forward this proposed combined response. The Grand Jury Report concludes by stating that the public deserves a coordinated strategic plan for illegal dumping, and that the Plan should include Education, Eradication, and Enforcement. Importantly, the Oakland City Council adopted the Action Plan on May 19, 2026 (Attachment C), which includes all three of the components recommended in the Grand Jury Report. A presentation with an overview of Oakland's Plan can be found at: https://www.oaklandca.gov/files/assets/city/v/1/public-works/documents/waste-recycling/idea-plan-presentation.pdf The City appreciates the Report’s strong support for the actions Oakland has taken on items such as aerial camera technology to more accurately track and remedy illegal dumping, the support for enhanced tools for the workforce, such as hand-held technology for Environmental Enforcement Officers to more effectively issue and collect citations, trucks and equipment for cleanup teams, and overtime funding for enhanced cleanup, all of which have been approved and launched by the City. The City’s comprehensive strategy to address illegal dumping prioritizes neighborhoods disproportionately affected by this issue, pairs stronger accountability with expanded legal disposal options, and emphasizes measurable outcomes. The Plan also funds Bulky Block Party events where residents can dispose of bulky waste free of charge – an item also called for in the Grand Jury Report. Finally, the Grand Jury report also recommended expanded public education about free bulky waste services for Oakland residents, including increasing renters’ awareness of free bulky pickup and dropoff services. This work is already underway, and examples of the educational materials are contained in Attachment D. More information about free bulky waste disposal options for Oakland residents, and the link to schedule one, can be found at: https://www.oaklandrecycles.com/bulky. In addition to having a comprehensive Plan to eradicate illegal dumping in Oakland, the City has obtained more than $10 million in new local, state, and private foundation resources to tackle this problem, including $9.2 million from the Crankstart Foundation announced on June 11, Elizabeth Lake, Acting City AdministratorSubject: City Responses to 2025-2026 Civil Grand Jury Report Date: June 25, 2026 Page 3 Public Works and Transportation Committee July 14, 2026 2026; nearly $500,000 from CalRecycle to clean up illegal dumping from hard-hit corridors in Oakland; and over $1 million in local funding included in the Plan adopted by the City Council. Furthermore, the June 12, 2026 adoption of the midcycle budget by the City Council added another $1 million proposed by the Mayor and City Council for additional cleanups, $900,000 for vehicles to help with illegal dumping eradication, and $950,000 to clear dumping and trash from parks. https://oakland.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=8057587&GUID=B13BC542-7BC2-4806-A188-B63E00DDEFA0These critical investments, which include funding for enhanced enforcement including working with OPD and Alameda County officials, along with the roadmap outlined in the recently adopted Plan, will allow the City to break the cycle of illegal dumping, improve equity and effectiveness of the response, and advance the city on a trajectory toward clean streets. The City is pleased to be aligned with the Grand Jury Report’s recommendations, and to share that many of these actions have already been authorized and funded. By adopting this Resolution, City Council will provide for a timely and unified response to the Grand Jury Recommendations and Findings and publicly share information about actions Oakland has taken and is undertaking, to help remedy illegal dumping. RELATED PLANNING EFFORTS This Resolution aligns with the City Council’s approved strategic priorities to Foster Cross-Department Collaboration and to Enhance Communication & Coordination, by providing for unified responses to be submitted together by the Administration and Council, and by better communicating to the public and to the Grand Jury the actions Oakland is taking. By improving routing and targeting of cleanup operations, and through the use of more efficient vehicles, these efforts help reduce fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions and support the goal of the Equitable Climate Action Plan (ECAP) to “reduce climate impacts of city operations.” Timely and effective removal of illegal dumping also reduces the risk that such waste would cause fires and pollute air and water. The actions discussed in this report support the goals of Oakland’s Economic Development Action Plan (EDAP), including Economic Growth, and Place and Community Investment. Providing for infrastructure maintenance, such as clean streets and sidewalks, helps support local business success and development, enhancing attraction for investors, employees and customers. FISCAL IMPACT There are no direct fiscal impacts of adopting this Resolution. This Report and Attachment B describe actions which already been approved, including that Oakland successfully sought and obtained many millions of dollars of grant funds, to support and enhance a comprehensive Plan to remedy illegal dumping with education, eradication, and enforcement. These funds include Council passage of the over $1 million Illegal Dumping Expenditures Action Plan, the City Elizabeth Lake, Acting City AdministratorSubject: City Responses to 2025-2026 Civil Grand Jury Report Date: June 25, 2026 Page 4 Public Works and Transportation Committee July 14, 2026 receiving grant funding from CalRecycle for enhanced, targeted cleanups of illegal dumping from hard-hit corridors, a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to purchase new vehicles for cleanups, and a major $9.2 million grant from the Crankstart Foundation to expand Oakland’s programs to remedy illegal dumping, launch and evaluate new strategies, and obtain more and better equipment and technology. The June 12, 2026 Council budget adoption included the Mayor’s addition of $1 million for cleanups, and added $900,000 for new vehicles/equipment to help remedy illegal dumping and $950,000 to remove dumping and trash from parks. Additional financial details on the aforementioned actions are included in the corresponding legislation for each action. PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST In adopting the actions discussed in the City’s Responses, including adoption of the City’s Illegal Dumping Expenditures Action Plan, extensive public outreach was conducted, including participating in Bay Area regional and statewide conventions and task forces on illegal dumping featuring best practices, multiple meetings with community-based organizations, neighborhood groups and large coalition meetings, including those organized by Faith in Action East Bay, and incorporation of recommendations from other jurisdictions and agencies. COORDINATION This report and attachments were prepared in coordination between the City Administrator’s Office, Oakland Public Works, Office of the Mayor, and the Council President. The Office of the City Attorney and the Budget Bureau were also consulted in preparation of this report. RACE AND EQUITY Illegal dumping has disproportionately harmed communities of color, damaging public health and community well-being, and undermining hard-hit neighborhoods. No Racial Equity Impact Analysis has been prepared for this Report; however, the actions discussed in this Report were planned in consultation with the Department of Race and Equity. These items include actions to help remedy inequities, such as options to do community service in lieu of penalties, and systems to ensure that hardest-hit communities get cleaned up. This includes supporting technology and to better identify and target cleanups of abandoned waste to reduce disparate impacts from hard-hit communities of color, funding to clear corridors in impacted communities, and the adoption of policy direction to proceed with a comprehensive approach and data collection, both to remedy inequities, and to track and identify impacts of the actions taken. Further discussions of the race and equity impacts and strategies are included in the Reports accompanying the adoption of those items.
Elizabeth Lake, Acting City AdministratorSubject: City Responses to 2025-2026 Civil Grand Jury Report Date: June 25, 2026 Page 5 Public Works and Transportation Committee July 14, 2026 ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Authorizing The Council President To Submit A Response On Behalf Of The City Council To The 2025-2026 Alameda County Civil Grand Jury Report 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 Reviewed by: Kristin Hathaway, Assistant Director Oakland Public Works Attachments (4): Attachment A: Alameda County Civil Grand Jury 2025-26 Report Attachment B: City’s Responses to Grand Jury Recommendations and Findings Attachment C: Oakland Illegal Dumping Expenditures Action Plan Attachment D: City’s Outreach and Education about Free Bulky Waste Disposal