Richmond residents may find out next week how the city will engage them in decisions about Chevron settlement money
on October 15, 2026
Richmond City Council has still not decided how to spend a $550 million award from a landmark settlement against Chevron two years ago, frustrating residents who have been waiting to be included in the process.
On Tuesday, the council is expected to provide updates about a timeline for a public engagement process on how to spend the funds, after delaying the updates during two meetings in September.
The council voted 4-1 on Sept. 15 to move the public engagement process forward, with Cesar Zepeda and Soheila Bana abstaining and Mayor Eduardo Martinez voting against the motion.
“We would really like to see the process continue as soon as possible,” Erika Siao, a researcher with Communities for a Better Environment, said at the meeting, expressing how many people in the community feel.
At a meeting a week later, Emma Ishii, an organizer with the Asian Pacific Environmental Network, said the Sept. 15 vote was an affirmation of the council’s commitment to the public process.
The funds come from an August 2024 settlement agreement with Chevron Corp. that removed a ballot measure which would have allowed Richmond to impose a $1 per barrel tax on the 250,000 barrels or so that Chevron refines in the city every day.
The city passed an ordinance in September 2024 that expressed the council’s intention to use the settlement funds to decrease the city’s reliance on Chevron revenue and develop a local economy independent of the fossil fuel industry.
The city received payments of $50 million in July 2025 and July 2026, with 3% of each payment going to the Richmond Fund for Children and Youth.
“The remaining $97 million is still fully intact and has not been spent,” Emily Combs, Richmond’s finance director, said in an email.
Martinez told Richmond Confidential the move to delay providing updates about the public engagement process was so the city could have a better picture of the money available in the general fund, which won’t be clear until it negotiates contracts with police and fire unions. His dissenting vote reflects that thinking.
The city also faces a $9.8 million budget deficit. Combs said the settlement funds might be needed to close the shortfall for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, which ended June 30, as well as future deficits.
At a voter forum on Oct. 1, Councilmember Claudia Jimenez, who is running for mayor, was asked about why she disagreed with pausing the public process, since the city doesn’t know ultimately how much of the settlement it will be able to spend.
“The idea of using that $550 million to close that gap is short-sighted. We need to use that to make sure that we have a brighter future for Richmond in the years to come,” she said.
Ahmad Anderson, the other mayoral candidate, was asked if he would have voted to delay or continue the public process, given the staff’s concerns about the budget deficit. He did not offer a definitive answer.
“Absolutely would have listened to the staff, but I definitely think listening to the community is important,” Anderson said. To gauge community input, Anderson suggested bringing subject-matter experts into each council district to hear residents’ concerns.
Still no consultant contract
As part of the public process, the city selected Dalberg Advisors in April to lead public engagement sessions and provide financial advice on the settlement. The contract amount has not been finalized, but Combs said a consultant is expected to cost between $150,000 to $300,000, a sum likely to come from the general fund. The source of those funds, she said, will be determined by the City Council in the coming months.
Asked during the Sept. 15 meeting what was delaying the contract, Richmond City Manager Shasa Curl, whose last day on the job was Oct. 2, said the city did not have “the variables needed to generate a good scope of work.”
An item on Tuesday’s City Council agenda notes the city anticipates returning to the council on Nov. 10 with the finalized Dalberg Advisors’ contract. That’s when Dalberg is expected to present its community engagement plan, including the anticipated timeline and outreach activities.
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