Banking on the county

East Bay public bank's future lies with the county; Empty county jail costs $1 million a year; Barbara Lee's senate campaign raises $1.4m; Lateefah Simon's CA12 campaign posts strong numbers

Supporters of a community public bank in the East Bay, including Hayward Councilmember George Syrop, left, at Tuesday’s Alameda County Board of Supervisors meeting.

COUNTY NEWS

PUBLIC BANK

—BANKING ON THE COUNTY—A desire by some local progressive group for starting a public bank in the East Bay has been bandied about for several years. Public bank advocates reeled in Richmond, which has allotted $750,000 toward the endeavor, along with official support from city councils in Oakland and Berkeley.

—Whether or not the proposed public bank, which would be only second in the U.S. and first in a century, is just a liberal pipe dream rests on Alameda County’s support, advocates told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday afternoon.

—Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson, in particular, appeared skeptical about a public bank and how the county would find money—$30 million or more—for the proposal.

–Elected Alameda County Treasurer-Tax Collector Hank Levy advocated for a public bank on Tuesday, along with other proponents, including Hayward Councilmember George Syrop.

—Levy said, he too, was initially skeptical about a public bank before understanding its benefits for supporting local investment and lending to underserved communities.

—Carson, though, made it clear that Levy would have to find the $30 million within his own department. The county will not dip into its general fund, he added.

—In this case, the county’s funding would be an investment in the public bank’s start-up costs. The large amount being a reason the public bank’s supporters say county involvement is essential to getting the proposal off the ground.

—One possible accounting maneuver would be for Levy to simply shift a portion of the county’s investments to the public bank, a transfer that Levy, as treasurer, is authorized to make on his own.

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