For Immediate Release: April 23, 2026

PRESS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE CITY AUDITOR
MICHAEL C. HOUSTON, CITY AUDITOR

CONTACT: DENA L. SHUPE
(510) 238-4975 Office
dshupe@oaklandca.gov

OAKLAND, Calif. (April 23, 2026): Today, the Office of the City Auditor released a report titled, Performance Audit of Illegal Dumping: Improvements to the Accessibility of Legal Waste Disposal and the City’s Enforcement and Remediation Policies and Operations Could Help Alleviate Oakland’s Illegal Dumping Problem. The objectives of the audit were to:

• identify potential sources of illegal dumping in Oakland,
• evaluate the City’s use of resources to promote effective clean ups and enforcement,
• identify workload and process improvements for clean ups, citing violators, and preventing recurrent dumping, and
• assess accessibility and familiarity with services that mitigate illegal dumping.

The audit, which the City Auditor’s Office conducted in response to widespread community concern about illegal dumping, covered the City of Oakland’s illegal dumping activities between 2019 through 2025, but also included financial data from as early as 2013.

The audit report details how multiple City departments have roles in the City’s efforts to fight illegal dumping in Oakland, including Public Works, the City Administrator’s Office, the Police Department, Code Enforcement, and the Finance Department. The City’s Public Works Department has the most prominent role in the City’s illegal dumping efforts within the public right-of-way. Public Works is responsible for cleaning up illegal dumping and managing the City’s contract with the private hauler that serves Oakland residents and business operators with waste disposal. Since 2013-14, spending on clean ups has increased considerably, nearing $12 million in fiscal year 2024-25. Public Works also has an Environmental Enforcement Unit (EEU) which cites illegal dumping offenders and provides outreach. Spending in that unit has also increased.

The audit reviewed the City’s methods for prevention, deterrence, and clean up, and concluded that legal waste removal should be more accessible and affordable. The audit team found that much of the illegal dumping in Oakland is residential in origin, and the City’s contracted residential waste hauling is more expensive than it is for residents of other cities. Residential customers have access to bulky pickups, but this service – especially among multi-family residents – appears to be underutilized. The audit also found that dumpsters allotted to councilmembers and the Mayor through the City’s hauling contract, have been underutilized, representing a loss of allotted legal waste disposal and contracted benefits to the City.

The audit identified opportunities for the City to strengthen enforcement of illegal dumping through legislative changes and improved regional collaboration. In addition, the audit noted that the City imposes special assessments on residential properties not subscribing to waste services, but it could impose special assessments on both residential and commercial properties. Furthermore, fines for illegal dumping violations are lower in Oakland than they are in other local jurisdictions. The audit report notes that progress in these areas was made during the course of the audit, but those efforts have not been finalized.

Lastly, the audit found that the actual clean ups of illegal dumping are effective, but environmental enforcement could be improved through finalized strategies, clear goals, procedures and performance management, regular review of enforcement and prevention strategies, consistent staffing and workload improvements, streamlined processes and interdepartmental coordination, and improved user access and updates via the City’s online service request portal. Notably, the audit found that the lack of policies and procedures and overarching strategy led to inconsistent service delivery within the EEU with patrols focused on a 20-block stretch of the city for several months.

This audit made 17 recommendations to address the findings. The City Auditor’s Office will follow up and report on the statuses of the recommendations until they are implemented.

Oakland City Auditor Houston stated, “I am proud that through our audit, we were able to respond to the concerns of so many stakeholders, and bridge the roles and understanding of different departments and jurisdictions to help make our community cleaner and safer for Oakland residents, business operators, and visitors. I am even more proud that we addressed root causes and identified opportunities to make legal waste removal more affordable and accessible to Oaklanders. Everyone deserves to live in a clean, safe city.”

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You can read the full report here. Click here, to download this press release as a PDF. The City Auditor is available for in-person, virtual, or phone interviews. Please direct questions to Director of Communications, Dena Shupe at DShupe@oaklandca.gov.

ABOUT OAKLAND’S CITY AUDITOR MICHAEL C. HOUSTON

A career public servant, Michael C. Houston, has been a government auditor and investigator for 18 years. He worked as a performance auditor for the City of San Jose’s independent City Auditor’s Office from 2008 to 2017 and then as the Director of Compliance and Internal Control at California State University East Bay, where he directed the audit and investigation functions between 2017 and 2019. Michael joined the Oakland City Auditor’s Office in 2019 as the Whistleblower Program Manager and was promoted to be the Assistant City Auditor in 2022. In a March 2024 Special Election, Michael was elected to complete the term of the previous City Auditor, who resigned mid-term. Michael has a Master of Public Policy degree from U.C. Berkeley, a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Sonoma State University, and is a Certified Internal Auditor.

ABOUT THE OAKLAND CITY AUDITOR’S OFFICE

The City Auditor’s Office independently and objectively reviews City operations and services, and reports on their performance to the public. The Office’s audits include recommendations to management and those charged with governance and oversight, on how to improve services, reduce costs, and increase public accountability. The Office conducts performance audits in accordance with Government Auditing Standards set by the Government Accountability Office under the U.S. Comptroller General. The City Auditor’s Office operates a Whistleblower Hotline to receive and investigate allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse affecting or involving City of Oakland resources, employees, officials, or contractors. The Office also prepares financial ballot analyses for proposed legislation in accordance with the City Charter, and conducts analyses and reviews requested from the City Council. Visit www.oaklandauditor.com to learn more about Oakland’s Office of the City Auditor or view a complete list of our released audits, investigations, and annual reports.

For Immediate Release: April 2, 2026

PRESS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE CITY AUDITOR
MICHAEL C. HOUSTON, CITY AUDITOR

CONTACT: DENA L. SHUPE
(510) 238-4975 Office
dshupe@oaklandca.gov

OAKLAND, Calif. (April 2, 2026): Yesterday, the Oakland City Auditor’s Office released an audit report about the Revenue Management Bureau (Revenue Bureau) of the City of Oakland’s Finance Department.

During the 2024-25 midcycle budget process, the City Council requested and provided funding for the audit, amid concerns that the City was not collecting all the business tax revenue it was owed. The audit, contracted by the City Auditor’s Office, assessed the Revenue Bureau’s billing and collection of applicable City taxes and fees, and identified how the Revenue Bureau could increase collection of City taxes and revenues. The audit covered business tax collection activities from July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2024. During this time, annual business license revenue ranged from a low of $101 million (Fiscal Year 2021-22) to $123 million (Fiscal Year 2023-24).

The audit concluded that the Revenue Bureau did not collect all revenue owed to the City, did not have sufficient systems in place to ensure accurate and timely billing and collection of City taxes and fees, had not sufficiently collected taxes and revenues from identified businesses, and did not have sufficient processes for identifying businesses subject to business tax.

Among the key findings was that the Revenue Bureau reduced or ceased activities which led to reduced potential revenue. For example, the Revenue Bureau’s Tax Compliance Division did not refer delinquent business tax accounts for collection timely or consistently, which endangered the City’s ability to collect potential revenue. In a given year, the Bureau expected to refer between $9 and $12 million to collections. The audit also identified internal management issues like insufficient segregation of duties, and a lack of comprehensive performance management and monitoring. On the positive side, the audit found that the Revenue Bureau’s tax registration and renewal processes were mostly consistent with best practices, and its tax audit and revenue verification processes were also consistent with best practices.

The audit report includes 10 recommendations to the Finance Department to address these findings. The City Administration accepted all the audit recommendations. The City Auditor’s Office will follow up on each of the audit recommendations to monitor progress, as part of its semiannual audit recommendation follow-up process, until the recommendations are implemented.

Oakland City Auditor Michael C. Houston commented on the audit results: “In order to deliver essential services our community needs and deserves, the City of Oakland must bring in revenue to keep up with its expenses. Given our ongoing budget constraints, the City needs to secure every dollar it can. I am glad this audit identified ways the City can bring in revenue that it is owed and desperately needs.”

Auditor Houston added: “I am grateful to the City Council for sponsoring this important audit. And I am grateful to the leadership of the Finance Department, including the new Revenue Bureau Manager, for their cooperation during the audit, as well as their consideration and acceptance of the audit recommendations. And I thank the team at Sjoberg Evashenk, Consulting for their thorough review of this essential City function.”

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You can read the full report here. Click here, to download this press release as a PDF.
The City Auditor is available for in-person, virtual, or phone interviews. Please direct questions to Assistant to the City Auditor Dena Shupe at DShupe@oaklandca.gov.

ABOUT OAKLAND’S CITY AUDITOR MICHAEL C. HOUSTON

A career public servant, Michael C. Houston, has been a government auditor and investigator for 18 years. He worked as a performance auditor for the City of San Jose’s independent City Auditor’s Office from 2008 to 2017 and then as the Director of Compliance and Internal Control at California State University East Bay, where he directed the audit and investigation functions between 2017 and 2019. Michael joined the Oakland City Auditor’s Office in 2019 as the Whistleblower Program Manager and was promoted to be the Assistant City Auditor in 2022. In a March 2024 Special Election, Michael was elected to complete the term of the previous City Auditor, who resigned mid-term. Michael has a Master of Public Policy degree from U.C. Berkeley, a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Sonoma State University, and is a Certified Internal Auditor.

ABOUT THE OAKLAND CITY AUDITOR’S OFFICE

The City Auditor’s Office independently and objectively reviews City operations and services, and reports on their performance to the public. The Office’s audits include recommendations to management and those charged with governance and oversight, on how to improve services, reduce costs, and increase public accountability. The Office conducts performance audits in accordance with Government Auditing Standards set by the Government Accountability Office under the U.S. Comptroller General. The City Auditor’s Office operates a Whistleblower Hotline to receive and investigate allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse affecting or involving City of Oakland resources, employees, officials, or contractors. The Office also prepares financial ballot analyses for proposed legislation in accordance with the City Charter, and conducts analyses and reviews requested from the City Council. Visit www.oaklandauditor.com to learn more about Oakland’s Office of the City Auditor or view a complete list of our released audits, investigations, and annual reports.

For Immediate Release: March 10, 2026

PRESS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE CITY AUDITOR
MICHAEL C. HOUSTON, CITY AUDITOR

CONTACT: DENA L. SHUPE
(510) 238-4975 Office
dshupe@oaklandca.gov

OAKLAND, California (March 10, 2026): Today, Oakland’s Office of the City Auditor released a report about the City agencies tasked with providing independent oversight of the Oakland Police Department (OPD): the Police Commission, Community Police Review Agency (CPRA), and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG).  

Each of the three agencies has a distinct role in promoting constitutional policing in Oakland. After a 2003 Negotiated Settlement Agreement (NSA) requiring OPD to implement 52 reforms and bring OPD into federal oversight, the City established the police oversight agencies due to further misconduct. Voters approved Measure LL in 2016, establishing the Police Commission to oversee OPD’s policies and procedures, and CPRA to investigate complaints of police misconduct. In November 2020, voters approved Measure S1, which amended Measure LL, expanding the independence, authority, and staffing of the Police Commission and CPRA, and establishing the OIG to review OPD’s compliance with reforms mandated through the 2003 NSA. 

The objectives of the audit were to assess the extent to which each oversight body is acting in accordance with its City Charter and Municipal Code requirements; identify obstacles, if any, each oversight body faces in meeting the requirements laid out in the City Charter and Municipal Code; and evaluate the extent to which the oversight bodies provide effective oversight of OPD. The audit covered January 2020 through December 2025, and found: 

• The Police Commission and CPRA have not yet implemented all previous audit recommendations from the Office of the City Auditor’s 2019 performance audit. 

• The Police Commission, CPRA, and the OIG met 26 of 43 select City Charter and Municipal Code requirements. 

• Vacancies, frozen positions, low minimum staffing requirements, and leadership turnover have hindered the police oversight agencies’ ability to fulfill their legally mandated duties. 

• The City Charter and Municipal Code are inconsistent and conflict on the hiring and removal of the heads of CPRA and the OIG. 

• Structural independence – functional separation from the City Administration in matters of budget and hiring, for example – would help to ensure the police oversight agencies have sufficient resources and administrative authority to meet their legal mandates. 

The audit report includes two recommendations to address the findings. The first calls for the City Attorney’s Office to independently analyze the agencies to identify the resources they need to meet their legal requirements. The City Attorney’s Office is independent, is uniquely positioned to factor legal requirements, and previously completed a similar analysis for the City Auditor’s Office. The second recommendation calls for the City Council to adopt revisions to the Municipal Code and pursue changes to the City Charter as needed, to resolve conflicts between the Municipal Code and the City Charter to resolve conflicting language. The audit notes that an earlier proposal to revise the enabling ordinances following the passage of Measure S1 has been pending Council consideration since early last year.  

The Office of the City Auditor will follow up on the statuses of the audit recommendations twice per year as part of its semiannual audit recommendation follow-up process. The City Charter also requires recurring audits of the Police Commission and CPRA by the City Auditor’s Office every three years. This audit brings the Office current on that requirement.  

City Auditor, Michael C. Houston, reflected on the audit results: “In recent years the City has not provided enough resources to deliver on its stated values and principles. Our audit confirms that police oversight is an example of this. The City and the community have vocalized a commitment to rigorous police oversight, but the City has not given enough resources for these three agencies to deliver rigorous police oversight.” City Auditor Houston added: “Like many Oaklanders, I was encouraged by the recent news regarding the Police Department’s progress in meeting the terms of the Negotiated Settlement Agreement. The leadership and organizational culture within City Hall that contributed to that good news, as well as the collaboration and responsiveness of the Police Commission, CPRA, and the City Attorney’s Office throughout our audit process, give me hope that the City Administration is committed to maintaining constitutional policing that residents deserve. Supporting the police oversight agencies with the resources necessary to fulfill their mandates will demonstrate that the City has a proportionate commitment to providing assurance that constitutional policing will be consistent and ongoing.” 

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You can read the full report here. Click here, to download this press release as a PDF.
The City Auditor is available for in-person, virtual, or phone interviews. Please direct questions to Assistant to the City Auditor Dena Shupe at DShupe@oaklandca.gov.

ABOUT OAKLAND’S CITY AUDITOR MICHAEL C. HOUSTON

A career public servant, Michael C. Houston, has been a government auditor and investigator for 18 years. He worked as a performance auditor for the City of San Jose’s independent City Auditor’s Office from 2008 to 2017 and then as the Director of Compliance and Internal Control at California State University East Bay, where he directed the audit and investigation functions between 2017 and 2019. Michael joined the Oakland City Auditor’s Office in 2019 as the Whistleblower Program Manager and was promoted to be the Assistant City Auditor in 2022. In a March 2024 Special Election, Michael was elected to complete the term of the previous City Auditor, who resigned mid-term. Michael has a Master of Public Policy degree from U.C. Berkeley, a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Sonoma State University, and is a Certified Internal Auditor.

ABOUT THE OAKLAND CITY AUDITOR’S OFFICE

The City Auditor’s Office independently and objectively reviews City operations and services, and reports on their performance to the public. The Office’s audits include recommendations to management and those charged with governance and oversight, on how to improve services, reduce costs, and increase public accountability. The Office conducts performance audits in accordance with Government Auditing Standards set by the Government Accountability Office under the U.S. Comptroller General. The City Auditor’s Office operates a Whistleblower Hotline to receive and investigate allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse affecting or involving City of Oakland resources, employees, officials, or contractors. The Office also prepares financial ballot analyses for proposed legislation in accordance with the City Charter, and conducts analyses and reviews requested from the City Council. Visit www.oaklandauditor.com to learn more about Oakland’s Office of the City Auditor or view a complete list of our released audits, investigations, and annual reports.