When news of Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums' tax troubles came to light late last year, he told reporters the matter was being handled.

Well, apparently it has not been handled to the satisfaction of Internal Revenue Service officials, who last month added an additional $13,000 tax lien on the mayor's real and personal property.

The Dec. 23 filing, which addresses the mayor's 2008 taxes, does not state the reason for the additional penalty. It was filed just one month after disclosure of a $239,000 federal tax lien against Dellums and his wife, Cynthia.

That would be a lien on income received in his first year as mayor and it also means the IRS believes the Dellumses paid less than their full tax bill in four consecutive years.

Wow.

Dellums offered no explanation to Oakland residents when reporters from The Chronicle and at least three other media organizations called for comment.

"He's aware of the situation and is currently dealing with it," said spokesman Paul Rose on Monday, reading a statement on the tax debacle.

Hmmm. That's weird, because Kristin A. Pace, an Oakland tax attorney, says that's not how it usually works.

"What it (the latest lien) indicates to me is this is an ongoing investigation, and it has not been resolved," she said. What's more, the immediate IRS claim for back taxes in 2007 suggests the tax agency is watching closely, Pace added.

"He does have legal options and due process rights, but he's at a point where it could be dismissed summarily because he's failed to plead his case," Pace said.

Is there anyone in the Dellums' camp with the guts or good sense to point out the obvious problem with the mayor staying silent on this issue?

Dellums has received a paycheck from U.S. taxpayers for more than 30 years, yet feels no obligation to explain to those very same people why he has been unable - or unwilling - to hold up his end of the public contract.

But it's not only that.

One of the main planks of Dellums' election campaign was a pledge, a promise, his very word, that he would conduct public business in a public manner. Transparency was to be a key part of his administration.

It should have been apparent that even Dellums' election campaign was run in murmurs and whispers. His citizen task forces, which were charged with creating public policy ideas, were closed to inquiring reporters.

And when Dellums took office in 2007, he slammed the door shut on the media and the general public. He attends public relations events when in town, but ignores virtually all media requests.

But for all the success he has had privatizing the most public office in Oakland, Dellums is not going to be able to shut out the IRS.

"There are lots of opportunities in different legal arenas, but the Dellumses are now in a different forum," Pace said. "This is the IRS saying 'Hey, you can't ignore us.' "

Throughout all the turmoil caused by Dellums' shortcomings, he has appeared as someone who views himself as a notch above the common man.

He arrives to work in a limousine, lives in a palatial estate in the Oakland hills, travels first-class and has a need for five-star lodging and accommodations wherever he goes, whether it's for city business or for personal reasons.

He is by no means, a man of the people at a time when the people of Oakland desperately need one.