NEW RELEASE: Oakland’s 2025-26 Ethical Climate Survey Results Are In 

This week, my Office released the results from the City of Oakland’s Ethical Climate Survey (2025-26). This informational report gauges the City of Oakland’s ethical climate and its capacity for ethical decision-making, both at the organizational and individual level. The survey was developed by the Institute for Local Government and my Office invited City employees to take it at the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026. A total of 555 employees completed the survey.

Overall, the survey found that the City of Oakland has room for improvement with an overall score of 222 out of 300. In addition, 178 employees provided open-ended responses which gave specific insights into how they see our ethical climate and ways to improve it. For example, respondents suggested ways the City could improve its ethical culture by increasing management and supervisor accountability, enhancing organizational transparency and communication, and addressing City Council conduct and governance.

For more details on the survey findings, my team and I invite you to read the report.

NEW RELEASE:  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

On April 23, 2026 my Office 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 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. You can read the full report here.