February 21, 2023
City Council
DATE: February 21, 2023
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Vice Mayor McLaughlin
Subject:
Resolution authorizing City Manager and City Attorney
(or their designees) to work through next steps for
forming the Public Bank East Bay with the cities of
Berkeley and Oakland.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact to adopting this resolution.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
On April 5, 2022, the City of Richmond approved
Resolution 48-22 accepting the Public Bank East Bay
(PBEB) Viability Study and acknowledging Richmond as
a founding member of PBEB
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
As a founding member of PBEB, next steps require the
City Manager and City Attorney (or their designees) to
work with the other founding cities (Berkeley and
Oakland) to collaborate on terms of agreement for a
public bank charter that is consistent with the PBEB
Viability Study. The City Manager will come back to the City Council with a report and the final draft public bank Business Plan application for approval.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: RECEIVE a presentation from the Friends of Public Bank East Bay; and ADOPT a resolution authorizing the City
Manager and City Attorney (or their designees) to work
through next steps along the pathway to forming the
Public Bank East Bay with the Cities of Berkeley and
Oakland – Vice Mayor Gayle McLaughlin (510-620-
6636).
AGENDA
REPORT
February 21, 2023
DISCUSSION:
On April 5, 2022, the Richmond City Council approved the Viability Study for the formation of the Public Bank East Bay (PBEB) and agreed to become a founding member of PBEB, along with Berkeley and Oakland. See Viability study here:
https://publicbankeastbay.org/viability-study. Councilmember (currently serving as Vice Mayor) Gayle McLaughlin was appointed to represent Richmond on the PBEB board once it is established.
Since then, considerable work has commenced, and formation of the public bank is ready to take next steps.
Retired banker Gary Findley (who has formed over a hundred private banks) has been hired by the Friends of the Public Bank East Bay to create the Business Plan for our regional East Bay bank. Mr. Findley has also been retained by San Francisco to create their Business Plan due to his knowledge and understanding of the process for working with the state and federal bank regulators.
Mr. Findlay has been working on PBEB’s draft Business Plan and is ready to engage with the founding cities of the Public Bank East Bay (Richmond, Berkeley and Oakland) to create the terms of agreement and the final draft of the Business Plan for approval by each of the respective City Councils.
The Friends of PBEB have held meetings with the Richmond public, community organizations and City staff to lay the initial groundwork for further discussions.
This item will provide an updated presentation for the City Council and the public and seeks adoption of a resolution authorizing the City Manager and City Attorney (or their designees) to work with the other founding cities to take next steps as outlined in the resolution, including working out terms of agreement for the final draft Business Plan. A report, along with the final draft of the Business Plan, will come back to the City Council for approval when ready.
Attached is the resolution and also a high-level progress timeline.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Resolution authorizing staff to take next steps Attachment 2 – High-Level Progress Timeline