From: Alameda Citizens Task Force
To: Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft; Tony Daysog; Trish Spencer; Malia Vella; Tracy Jensen Cc: Manager Manager; City Clerk; Yibin Shen
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Item 3-A, April 24, 2023, City Council Agenda-Alameda Strategic Plan Date: Monday, April 24, 2023 3:59:54 PM
ACT
Alameda Citizens Task Force
Vigilance, Truth, Civility
Dear Mayor Ashcraft, Vice Mayor Daysog & Councilmembers Spencer, Vella and Jensen:
ACT urges that you consider amending Section 4 of the City Council Rules of Order as an additional project in the category of "Practice Fiscally Responsive and Inclusive Governance".
The current rule reads as follows:
"
Consent Calendar Items. Agenda items listed under the Consent Calendar are considered routine and will be enacted, approved, or adopted by one motion without discussion.
Members of the public can comment once on the entire Consent Calendar. Public comments shall be limited to two (2) minutes or less. Any Councilmember may request removal of a specific item for discussion or explanation. Councilmembers can record a vote other than aye without removing/”pulling” an item from the Consent Calendar. The removed/“pulled” item will be voted on separately. Each Councilmember may ask questions and deliberate for up to five (5) minutes on each item removed/”pulled” from the Consent Calendar." The current rules contain no criteria for qualification of a business item for the Consent Calendar, other than it is “routine”, with no definition of the term. This permits expenditures of large amounts of money to be placed on the consent calendar and thereby inhibits public scrutiny. One egregious example is the collective bargaining agreements with public employee unions. These agreements may be routine for Councilmembers who have already considered them in closed sessions, but they are certainly not routine for the public. Another example is the hiring of consultants at significant cost. Some cities place a dollar limit on expenditures that are over a fixed amount. However, trying to clearly define and get Council approval of the criteria for the Consent Calendar may not be practical.
The basic defect in the current rule is not just the definition of “routine”, but the fact that Consent Calendar items, even if “pulled” by a Councilmember are subject to much shorter timelines for both public and Councilmember comment, and that the Chairperson calls for and receives public comment before seeking Councilmember requests to remove an item from the Calendar and then does not allow separate public comment on the removed item.
The proposed amendment below simply returns to the prior process where the chairperson at the outset of the Consent Calendar allows Councilmembers to remove any item to the beginning of the Regular Agenda. Once it is so moved the item is treated as any other regular agenda item with regard to both public and Councilmember comment. This approach allows an individual Councilmember to determine if a matter does not belong on the consent Calendar. This process was in place for many years and was not abused.
Suggested wording for a new Section 4 follows:
"Consent Calendar Items. Agenda items listed under the Consent Calendar are considered routine and will be enacted, approved, or adopted by one motion without discussion. Prior to presentation of the Consent Calendar the presiding officer shall give any Councilmembers the opportunity to move any item to the beginning of the Regular Agenda. Members of the public can then comment once on the entire remaining Consent Calendar. Public comments shall be limited to two (2) minutes or less. Councilmembers can record a vote other than aye without moving an item to the Regular Agenda."
Thank you for your consideration of our proposal.
Alameda Citizens Task Force Board of Directors
From: Trish Spencer
To: Lara Weisiger
Subject: Fwd: [EXTERNAL] Workshop agenda item (4/24) New Alameda Housing Program (SAIL) Date: Monday, April 24, 2023 2:10:40 PM
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Evan Shwartz <[email protected]>
Date: Apr 24, 2023 1:39 PM
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Workshop agenda item (4/24) New Alameda Housing Program (SAIL)
To: Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft <[email protected]>,Trish Spencer <[email protected]>,Malia Vella <[email protected]>,Tony Daysog <[email protected]>,Tracy Jensen <[email protected]> Cc:
Hello! My name is Evan Shwartz, and I would like to propose an idea for consideration at tonight's meeting:
The California Dream for All housing program (https://www.calhfa.ca.gov/dream/ ) is a shared
appreciation loan initiative in which California covers up to 20% of a down payment and maintains equity in the home until refinancing or sale. The state then reinvests the appreciation back into the Dream for All fund, ensuring its self-sufficiency. With an income limit of $282,000 (https://www.calhfa.ca.gov/homeownership/limits/income/income.pdf ), this
program caters to general housing rather than inclusionary/BMR housing. Inspired by the success of this statewide program, I propose a similar initiative tailored to Alameda:
S.A.I.L. Program: Support for Alameda Island Living
Current housing programs offered by the county do not cater to realistic buyers. The notion of a person or family earning less than the average income - $120,000 in Alameda County - while being able to afford a mortgage is financially implausible. Consequently, California expanded the program to accommodate households with incomes up to $282,000 per year, ensuring the Dream for All program's financial responsibility and accessibility for those already paying mortgage-level rent.
It's no secret that down payments for single-family homes can be high, but closing costs can be prohibitively expensive, especially in multi-family developments like the Pulte Homes in Alameda. At Pulte, closing costs alone are estimated to be around $18,000, making what was supposed to be an "affordable" option inaccessible for many.
Furthermore, the usual "first time buyer" programs that only offer 3-5% down do not take into account the fact that anything less than 20% triggers mandatory mortgage insurance. This is often more expensive than H.O.A. fees. A 20% down payment on a modest condo would result in monthly payments that are comparable to the cost of rent here in Alameda.
Additionally, typical "first-time buyer" programs offering 3-5% down do not consider that anything less than 20% down triggers mandatory mortgage insurance. This cost is often higher than H.O.A. fees. A 20% down payment on a modest condo would result in monthly payments comparable to Alameda's rental costs.
I kindly request that you add this item to tonight's workshop agenda project list. This is an opportune moment to plan such a program while interest rates are high, ensuring funds will be allocated by the time rates decrease.
Thank you, and I look forward to addressing the council tonight during public comments.
Evan Shwartz
From: Savanna Cheer
To: City Clerk
Cc: Trish Spencer; Tony Daysog; Malia Vella; Tracy Jensen; Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft; Manager Manager Subject: [EXTERNAL] Feedback related to 4/24 strategic plan workshop Date: Monday, April 24, 2023 10:01:16 AM
Hello:
I plan to provide verbal public comment, but in order to include some links and more details, I will also submit some of my comments here as well.
To start, I
would like to comment on the timing and accessibility of this evening's meeting. An in-person meeting with no mask requirements on 5pm on a Monday is scarcely a public meeting. It excludes many disabled people, folks at high-risk for COVID, a wide swath of working people and caregivers. I hope that the types of outreach you detailed in the background materials, like “gallery walks” or “pop ups” do actually happen and at times, in spaces, and on days that are widely
accessible.
After having reviewed the background materials on the strategic planning process thus far there’s much to celebrate and encourage and also some confusing approaches that should be clarified if this plan is to effectively guide your work moving forward.
Both the vision statement and draft strategic priorities seem to contain two disparate voices.
One voice is protective and preservationist of some non-specific “Alameda values,” and seems oblivious to our city’s geographical positioning - literally the center of the Bay, connected to a dynamic and thriving larger East Bay region. It’s a voice that echoes the fear mongering that much of the national and local media has stirred around crime and punishment and overall it reads really insular and isolated. For example, the vision statement references "new and existing households." What about our homeless residents? Also, what constitutes "new," and why are they different from "existing?" It's divisive wording that doesn't exactly scream welcoming community. Next, within the “Enahnce Community Safety and Services” priority, there are eight bullet points. Half of them are dedicated to specific plans around increasing the footprint and presence of police in our community. That leaves the other half for all other things related to community safety and services. Back in March of 2021, most of you voted to advance a different vision of community safety when you approved the subcommittees on racial justice and policing’s recommendations. Their recommendations did not suggest militarizing our police force further with drones and increased surveillance. The recommendations also addressed specific non-police approaches to reducing crime, which you should have included in this particular priority.
The other voice that comes through in this plan seems to be somewhat aspirational and includes a really clear vision for Alameda, particularly around transportation, climate, and housing - three areas that contribute fundamentally to community safety. The "Housing All Alamedans" strategic priority sounds great, and if those goals can be achieved, our community will have so much to feel hopeful about. Yet, those plans won't be successful if Council and all City staff don't have a larger, shared vision of community safety and what it means to truly encourage belonging and inclusivity in areas like housing, transportation and climate. All this to say, it seems like there are some critically contradictory visions wrapped up in this plan that should get parsed out before you use this as your guidepost for city work.
To close, I noticed that the word “belonging,” is used in the governance strategic priority and the vision statement references "long term betterment." I would ask you all to deeply reflect on what those two phrases mean to each of you and be honest about how you plan to commit to a set of governance values around them. The Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley has an amazing report on Targeted Universalism, a concept conceived of by their director john. a. powell. I’d like to quote from that report:
“Targeted universalism means setting universal goals pursued by targeted processes to achieve those goals. Within a targeted universalism framework, universal goals are established for all groups concerned. The strategies developed to achieve those goals are targeted, based upon how different groups are situated within structures, culture, and across geographies to obtain the universal goal…”
One of the key elements john. a. powell outlines within this practice is differentiating transactional change versus transformative change. A transactional change may solve a singular barrier or problem within a community, but a transformative change will address the larger set of conditions or systems that set that barrier or created that problem. It is very clear from reading your draft vision statement and with the vagueness of some of the strategic priority points that this type of specificity and sharpness of focus is absent. The plan as it stands does not reflect a wider, broader vision that aims to make transformative changes to our community. I would encourage you all to try to view this process through this lens so that you might have the best chance to
address true “belonging,” as you’ve said you’d like to do. This requires reckoning with those two disparate voices being expressed in this plan.
Thank you,
Savanna Cheer
Alameda resident
From: Jennifer Rakowski
To: City Clerk; Manager Manager; Tony Daysog; Trish Spencer; Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft; Malia Vella; Tracy Jensen Subject: [EXTERNAL] Second workshop to develop a city of alameda strategic plan Date: Sunday, April 23, 2023 9:33:58 PM
Dear City Council and City Staff,
I am pleased you are engaging in a strategic planning process. Having just participated in the Transform Alameda community based Alameda Community Budget process, I had many opportunities to speak one on one with neighbors and visitors. I got to hear the joy of time with family biking to little league games, and the pain of losing family members to drug abuse. I saw the diversity of people waiting for the library to open and the respite the beach provides including those taking the bus to get there. We are a community filled with artists, doers, and creatives of all time and many of us shoulder caregiving responsibilities. City's when they are at their best are places where families build memories and business invest in more than the bottom line.I encourage you to envision a city
that is a force multiplier
making a positive impact on all who live, work, or visit here.
Please support the following initiatives:
Enhance Community Services to Maintain Safety*
Continue CARE team services and access, including increase linkage to community services and reduced police involvement.
Support continued programming and library services including expanding programs at alameda point.
Support Alameda Food Bank
Recognise city employees as disaster service workers and have plans for deployment based on levels skills and training. Including home base/overnight child care stipend for essential disaster workers
Build a permanent memorial to Mario Gonzalez and a respite space for all caregivers.
Build Resilience to Climate Change & Water Level Rise
Support Blue and Green economy especially in ways that repair harms to economically marginized and criminalized communities
Understand the healing and restorative power of art by supporting artist and art access.
Complete De-Pave Park design and seek park construction funding Jean Sweeney community garden, urban orchard and forager’s lane and construct a tool and seed lending library
Invest in Transportation and Infrastructure
Advocate for AC transit Service enhancements for Line 19, 20,21, 51a, 96 78,
W, OX, O
Support our vibrant Webster street and Park Street downtowns districts Street design safety including signal system, potholes, and pedestrian safety improvements
Continue to build out safe bike routes
See vacancy rates in local retail hubs as opportunities to create culture and resource hubs near existing transportation, the city can be a connector between non profits and commercial spaces, fund technical assistance grants for shared space, social purpose real estate collaboratives House All Alamedans
Rehouse families living on the point in new affordable housing Implement and manage Rise Up Alameda - Guaranteed Basic Income Program
Continue investment in Dignity Village
Invest in shared housing matching programs and social housing efforts Expand services for unhoused and housing insecure including families Practice Fiscally Responsive and Inclusive Governance
Create language access program
Implement Budget Equity Tool
Implement Participatory Budgeting
Create meaningful oversight of Police Department and Public Safety Services Targeted universalism, replacing historical structural barriers with bridges.
Those who have been most impacted have the knowledge of what needs to change
Engage with and listen to residents, visitors, and neighbors. have a mechanism in place to actually understand what they say and make this process part of how the city operates.
Be flexible and ready to pivot with proactive approaches to complex issues of governance.
*Note: What is not a part of pubic safetyt: drones, dogs, lock- downs, shelter in place,
addresses on rooftops, police monitoring corporate private technology systems, urban shield style training modules, collection notices for city crisis services, expansion of city attorney office further into criminal cases, shaming frequent users of emergency services instead of developing preventative plans and service models.
Where our view match , I hope we can work together to realize a more vibrant city.
Where our views divererge, I hope to engage in honest dialogue across difference to promote understanding.
Jennifer Rakowski
From: Transform Alameda
To: Tracy Jensen; Tony Daysog; Trish Spencer; Malia Vella; Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft Cc: City Clerk; Manager Manager
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Comments for 4/24 meeting and introduction to Alameda Community Budget Date: Friday, April 21, 2023 4:56:37 PM
Attachments: Alameda Community Budget 2023_publish.pdf
Dear City Council Members,
Transform Alameda is a collective of Alamedans working together to pursue racial justice in Alameda through education, policy, and action. We found one another online in 2020, and since then we have taken up a variety of projects and campaigns to focus Alameda on racial justice and community care. We applaud you for taking steps to develop a Strategic Plan for the City that can be used to drive values-based decision-making.
Over the past several months, Transform Alameda has focused on bringing participatory budgeting to
Alameda. Participatory budgeting, or peoples’ budgets, frame municipal budgets as not only policy documents, but moral documents that express a community’s values. In support of this framework, we conducted the Alameda Community Budget
Survey at the end of 2022. The attached report provides insights into the values and priorities of Alameda residents that we think will be useful to the Council as you develop both this Strategic Plan and the City’s FY 23-25 Budget.
When asked what makes up their ideal community, survey takers identified these five components as most important:
Infrastructure (maintaining roads, bike lanes, beaches, sidewalks; climate resiliency; public landscaping)
Parks and recreation (community events and spaces)
Alternatives to police response (programs like C.A.R.E. Team or non-police traffic enforcement)
Housing security and affordability
Health Services (mental healthcare, access to healthcare, and support for vulnerable individuals)
While many of these priorities align with the vision and projects identified in Strategic Planning workshop materials, one key distinction is that when residents think of community safety, they don’t universally think of police and crime reduction. In more than 400 qualitative, open-ended answer boxes, many respondents to the Alameda Community Budget survey expressed interest in directing public money towards meeting the community’s basic needs rather than funding expanded police presence and tools.
Respondents identified safety as a priority but did not necessarily equate a sense of safety with the police.
We urge you to truly engage Alameda residents in this Strategic Planning process.
Developing a vision statement for the City that speaks to equity and inclusion is important, but actions speak louder than words. Holding a workshop that requires in-person participation at 5pm on a weekday is the opposite of inclusionary. We hope that as this process proceeds, thought will be given to making workshops accessible for as many Alameda residents as possible.
Sincerely,
Transform Alameda
--
Web | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
20 23
alameda
community
budget
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Introduction and Background
01 Results and Learnings
03 Survey Design and Outreach
02 Next Steps
04 05
Thank You
06 Appendices: Survey Questions and Demographics
Transform Alameda — Alameda Community Budget 2023
At A Glance
The Alameda Community Budget (ACB) is a participatory budgeting project organized by Transform Alameda with support from many people and organizations around Alameda. We, like other community organizers all around the country, believe that city budgets are not just policy documents, but also moral documents. Public money should be spent on and for the public and should reflect community values.
In the Fall of 2022, we set out to ask Alamedans what things would exist in their ideal community? We offered an anonymous, online survey where community members could share their thoughts and priorities in three categories: Basic Needs, Community, and Public Safety. Through qualitative and quantitative answers, respondents told meaningful stories and shared thoughtful insights. We hope that this project will illuminate some common, community values around which City staff and City Council can build a budget.
Infrastructure (maintaining roads, bike lanes, beaches, sidewalks; climate resiliency; public landscaping)
Parks and recreation (community events and spaces)
Alternatives to police response (programs like C.A.R.E. Team or non-police traffic enforcement)
Housing security and affordability
Health Services (mental healthcare, access to healthcare, and support for vulnerable individuals)
When asked what makes up their ideal community,
survey takers identified these five components as most
important:
provide for everyone's universal needs
prioritize community care and caregivers
address community safety concerns without increasing policing The survey results make clear that the City of Alameda’s Budget should:
Learn more about how this looks in other places
Los Angeles
Sacramento
Vallejo
Madison
Birmingham
Nashville
What is participatory budgeting?
Participatory budgeting, or peoples’ budgets, frame municipal budgets as not only policy documents, but moral documents that express a community’s values. Transform Alameda believes, as many others do, that public money should be spent on and for the public. In cities across the country, in California, and in the Bay Area, community organizers have developed participatory budget processes that engage their communities in conversations about spending priorities and the ways public monies can meet the needs of all people. The Alameda Community Budget (ACB) is a project with this very goal. Our 2023 Alameda Community Budget survey was based on our past efforts and inspired by organizers in other cities who have led this work.
INTRODUCTION AND
BACKGROUND
Transform Alameda — Alameda Community Budget 2023
Add a little bit of body text
How does City budgeting work in Alameda?
In Alameda, the City’s budget is developed and adopted every two years. The entire budget is composed of budgets from each City department. Once compiled, City staff present a budget to the City Council for feedback and eventual adoption. While City staff has taken an important first step in modernizing the budget process with an online OpenGov budget book, the next step in the process is building an engaged budget informed by the community.
01 Also, while the budget is presented as an agendized item at an open, regularly scheduled City Council meeting, to our knowledge, there is no coordinated City outreach to the community ahead of this process.
We hope that Alameda Community Budget becomes a regular community practice here in Alameda as a way to start a conversation about the City’s spending and provide that necessary community input.
What is ACB and who put this together?
The Alameda Community Budget Survey was an anonymous, online survey asking about people’s priorities for public dollars. We focused on the largest and most impactful part of the budget—the General Fund. Alameda’s 2020-21 General Fund expenditures were
$125,042,961. We developed survey questions and the survey’s design over the summer of 2022 and officially published the survey online in September 2022. It stayed open until December 19, 2022. In this report, we’ll share more details about the survey design and outreach efforts, results, learnings, and what’s next.
Transform Alameda is a collective of Alamedans working together to pursue racial justice in Alameda through education, policy, and action.
We found one another online in 2020, and since then we have taken up a variety of projects and campaigns to focus Alameda on racial justice and community care. We have continually advocated for accountability from City Council around commitments to changing the framework of public safety in Alameda. For example: we objected to excessive police spending in late 2020 and beyond, supported Mario Gonzalez’s family after the Alameda Police Department killed him in 2021, advocated for the formation of a pilot program on alternative response to mental health crisis team called C.A.R.E. Team, supported City Staff as they developed a pilot GI (guaranteed income) program, and more. One of our important projects has been this participatory, community budget initiative: Alameda Community Budget.
Transform Alameda — Alameda Community Budget 2023
Took stock of who we are as a group, and who we are connected to locally.
Asked community members with specific data-gathering expertise to support our work and integrated their feedback into the creation of the survey.
Got feedback from friends and family members about their experience of taking the survey and made appropriate changes.
Carefully considered our language choices. With inclusivity in mind, we asked: who might be left out? Whose lived experiences do we want to make sure to include?
Mapped questions onto the current city budget, considering the relationship between current city spending and our survey questions.
One of our primary goals with this project is to start a community conversation. Our intention for the use of the survey results is to inspire a broad, community-based approach to building a public budget rather than craft specific policy points. We see this as the beginning of Alameda's long-term transition to a care-first budget rather than an endpoint for a single two-year budget. As such, it was important to design a survey that balanced quantitative results with qualitative results.
As we embarked on the design of the Alameda Community Budget Survey, we:
SURVEY DESIGN
AND OUTREACH
Transform Alameda — Alameda Community Budget 2023
02 Transform Alameda — Alameda Community Budget 2023
Basic Needs
This section included questions about housing security, health services, maintaining infrastructure, and city planning.
Community
The community section included child and youth development, elder and disabled support, rectifying past racial injustices, housing affordability, parks and recreation, arts and culture, and libraries.
Public Safety
In the public safety section, community members responded to questions about alternatives to police response, the police department, emergency and disaster preparedness, and the fire department.
Ultimately, the survey comprised twenty-six questions. Six were demographics questions. Four questions were open-ended, giving the community an opportunity to articulate their priorities in their own words and provide us with qualitative responses. The remaining questions were quantitative and asked community members to express how important particular items were for their ideal community, measured on a scale from one to five (one being, “not at all important,” and five being “extremely important”). These quantitative questions were broken into three sections:
After designing the survey, we spread the word! In order to share the survey throughout Alameda, members of our collective tabled at several community events in the Fall and Winter of 2022. We handed out and posted fliers at dozens of local businesses and public spaces.
We felt inspired by the support we received. We had fruitful conversations with neighbors and engaged with people we did and didn’t know, discussing the importance of including everyone’s voice in the process. The next few pages provide more details on the survey design and show a closer look into our outreach efforts and community engagement.
Transform Alameda — Alameda Community Budget 2023
SURVEY INTRO
In order to provide context and orient the survey participant, we included these two pages at the opening of the survey. To see the whole survey, reference Appendix 1.
Language Access
We wanted to be sure that multiple language
communities could access the survey. The survey
was available in Spanish, Chinese (simplified), and
Arabic. We promoted it on social media in these
languages.
Transform Alameda — Alameda Community Budget 2023
OUTREACH EFFORTS
Transform Alameda — Alameda Community Budget 2023
Places where ACB fliers
were posted or handed out,
tabling locations, and
community events.
West End Business District
Park Street Businesses
South Shore Center
Harbor Bay Landing
Pride in the ParkHistoric Japantown Unveiling
...and more!
Movies in the Park
Farmer's Market
Farm2Market Fall Fest
ACB AROUND THE
ISLAND
Transform Alameda — Alameda Community Budget 2023
In December, we held two community workshops with partner organizations. These were opportunities to come together in community to learn more about and explore public budgets and topic areas within our survey. Available online!
The first workshop was hosted in partnership with CASA
(Climate Action for a Sustainable Alameda) and featured speakers from Alameda City staff for "Budget 101" and a Q&A.
The second workshop was held with Budget2SaveLives and
focused on statewide efforts around care-first budgets.
COMMUNITY
WORKSHOPS
Transform Alameda — Alameda Community Budget 2023
RESULTS AND
LEARNINGS
Transform Alameda — Alameda Community Budget 2023
The survey results, both through answers to quantitative questions and trends in the qualitative, open-ended comments, show that respondents value the fulfillment of universal needs, community care, and community building. In looking at the results of the survey, community members' top and lowest priorities for what is important in their ideal community emerged.
The graph on this page shows the responses to all the quantitative questions asked in the survey. The following pages will expand each section of the survey (Basic Needs, Community, and Public Safety) and show the results in more detail.
03 Transform Alameda — Alameda Community Budget 2023
BASIC NEEDS
QUESTIONS
156
people provided responses to the
open-ended question in this section
Infrastructure (road safety, traffic, public transportation, bike lanes, sewers and public landscaping) was identified by survey respondents as the most important item in their ideal community in the Basic Needs section.
Housing affordability (42 responses)
Parks, recreation, community health (33 responses)
Infrastructure (32 responses)
Three top categories emerged from the responses:
Transform Alameda — Alameda Community Budget 2023
94 people provided responses to the
open-ended question in this section
Parks and Recreation was identified by survey respondents as the most important item in their ideal community in the Community section. This was closely followed by Libraries.
Community events and community building (31 responses)
Support for families, caregivers, youth, teachers, and elders (30 responses)
Parks and recreation (17 responses)
Three top categories emerged from the responses:
COMMUNITY
QUESTIONS
Alternatives to Police Response were identified by survey respondents as most important in their ideal community in the Public Safety section.
Notably, the Police Department received the lowest composite "extremely" and "very important" response of any question on the survey.
Transform Alameda — Alameda Community Budget 2023
107
people provided responses to the
open-ended question in this section
Alternatives to policing, reallocating police funding, defunding police, or otherwise reducing policing (25 responses)
Reforming policing, additional training, changing department priorities (23 responses)
Road and traffic safety (19 responses)
Three top categories emerged from the responses:
PUBLIC SAFETY
QUESTIONS
Priorities identified
by survey takers
of respondents said alternatives to police
response are “extremely" or “very
important” to their ideal community
69% responded "extremely," 20% "very"
89%
of respondents said Parks and Recreation is
“extremely” or “very important” to their
ideal community
48% responded "extremely," 41% "very"
89%
of respondents said maintaining
infrastructure is “extremely” or “very
important" to their ideal community
51% responded "extremely," 38% "very"
89%
Overall, we found the results reflected a general community concern for the fulfillment of Alamedans' universal needs. While safety consistently came up in respondents' open-ended answers, very few respondents identified policing as important to their ideal community.
Transform Alameda — Alameda Community Budget 2023
Public Safety
268 responses
Community Services
186 responses
Homelessness and Housing
89 responses
Survey Narratives
Transform Alameda — Alameda Community Budget 2023
Qualitative answers were an important part of the ACB process. Overall, we received 403 answers across four different open-ended answer boxes in the survey. We categorized all answers by topic. This graph represents the top three topics addressed.
Following are some of the thoughtful and imaginative voices we heard in the survey. "The city should be seriously
considering establishing a public
bank and maintaining control
over public lands. The bank would
allow the city to save money on
fees for financing its operations
and allow it to finance building
projects in the public interest as
well as give local loans..."
"I would love to see funding for community-led programs and projects. I believe the city can support community members and leaders with trusting in their ability to say what they need. My hope is that City Council invests more trust in the community itself to determine their basic needs and how to meet them." "Invest in basic needs - food,
shelter, healthcare - to
reduce dependency on
policing which is an
ineffective response to
problems that often relate to
basic needs not being met."
Survey Narratives
Transform Alameda — Alameda Community Budget 2023
"Community programs are the true
safety-net of a community, not the
police. Supporting the community
means shifting the focus from
punishment and fear to connection
and mutual relationship."
"I have been subject to
multiple property (car and
computer) thefts in the
last few years, and it does
suck and is a violation. I do
wish we had an actu
al plan
to try and curb this kind of
crime, which would start
with an understanding of
who is doing it and why and
what alternatives could
exist. But all roads for
these conversations seem
to lead back to cops, who
to be clear are not
preventing or resolving
them now. I would love to
see an honest, imaginative
community conversation
about safety and
opportunities to improve
all of our standard of
living..."
"I think that Alameda can,
and should, be on the
forefront of protecting
public health and the
unhoused, as well as quality
of life for all...we should be
setting the standard for
caring communities across
the country."
"I love living in Alameda
and want it to be a safe,
equitable, and welcoming
space for all."
"More Community Garden space and Co-housing options, a city-funded peace, justice, sustainability center...tree protection on private land, a water tower, grey water programs, water catchment, more funding for schools, honoring teachers, giving land back to the Ohlone people." Transform Alameda — Alameda Community Budget 2023
Who took the survey?
West End and Alameda Point
30.8%
East End
23.1%
Central Alameda
22.3%
Bay Farm
12.6%
Work in or care about Alameda
4.9%
Near Crown Beach
4.1%
Near Estuary
2.2%
This is a snapshot of some of the answers to demographic questions. For the complete data, please reference Appendix 2.
364
people
across
Alameda
When asked about their caregiver
status, 7 out of 10 respondents
identified as a caregiver
of respondents
answered 35 - 54
when asked their
age
20%
of respondents
identified speaking
a non-English
language at home
63%
NEXT STEPS
Transform Alameda — Alameda Community Budget 2023
Where we go from here
The City of Alameda's next two-year budget should be an expression of community priorities. The Alameda Community Budget can be a useful tool in a couple ways. First, it is an inclusive, people-driven budgeting process for our community, while simultaneously serving as a community needs assessment. Second, it can be a detailed, creative guide for how public money should be spent in order to meet those needs.
Two big themes emerged from survey responses: ways to address safety in our community, and meeting universal needs. The two were often linked in respondents' survey answers through strong support of police-alternatives, questions about the effectiveness of what is in place currently, encouragement of community building, and ideas for innovative services or programs that meet universal needs. It's clear that significant investment should be made into Community Development programming, Infrastructure, and Parks and Recreation.
Together we can nurture a caring, vibrant, and whole island community.
04 What you can do
Participate in the City's budget
development process in April and May by
engaging with City Council meetings
Share your story with us! We want to
highlight community experiences and
connect them to budget areas
Connect with Transform Alameda on
social media (links below) to learn more
and receive action alerts
[email protected]
Make your voice heard! Express your
community priorities by contacting your
elected City leaders
THANK YOU
Our workshop partners, CASA (Community Action for a
Sustainable Alameda) and Budget2SaveLives.
Everyone that provided initial feedback, from our partners at Alameda Justice Alliance to our friends, families, and
neighbors.
Those who supported increased language access through
translation of the survey.
Everyone who shared the survey on and offline.
Groups and organizations who spread the word within their communities:
We appreciate all who made this project a true community effort:
Transform Alameda — Alameda Community Budget 2023
05 Most of all thank you to all the community members who expressed support for the Alameda Community Budget and engaged in this meaningful community conversation. This is work we can all do together, for one another.
Friends of the West End
Alameda All Faiths
West End Arts District
Alameda Family Collective
Alameda Progressives
Alameda Renter's Coalition
Mosaic
AAPI Roundtable
Alameda Point Collaborative
CASA
APPENDICES
Transform Alameda — Alameda Community Budget 2023
06 Appendix 1: Survey Questions
Appendix 2: Demographic Data
Transform Alameda — Alameda Community Budget 2023
Appendix 1
2022 Alameda Community Budget Survey
您可以用中文回复阿拉米达社区预算。它很快就会上市。
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Before we start...
2022 Alameda Community Budget Survey
Basic Needs
2022 Alameda Community Budget Survey
Community
2022 Alameda Community Budget Survey
Public Safety
2022 Alameda Community Budget Survey
Demographics
2022 Alameda Community Budget Survey
Thank you!
Appendix 2
Q.1 First, do you live in Alameda?
Location Response % Responses
West End 29.12% 106
East End 23.08% 84
Central Alameda 22.25% 81
Bay Farm 12.64% 46
Alameda Point 1.65% 6
Near the Estuary 2.20% 8
Near Crown Beach 4.12% 15
Different part of
Alameda 0.55% 2
Work in Alameda 2.20% 8
I care about Alameda
for other reason 2.20% 8
Answered 364
Q21. Select a category below that best describes
your age.
Answer Choices Response % Responses
21 or younger 2.57% 8
22-34 13.18% 41
35-54 62.06% 193
55 or older 20.26% 63
Prefer not to say 1.93% 6
Total responses 311
DEMOGRAPHIC DATA
Q22. Race/ethnicity. Select all that apply.
Answer Choices Response % Responses
Prefer not to say 6.75% 21
Asian or Asian
American 11.90% 37
Black or African
American 5.79% 18
Indigenous 2.57% 8
Latinx or Hispanic 7.07% 22
Native Hawaiian or
Pacific Islander 1.93% 6
White/Caucasian 71.70% 223
Self-described 2.89% 9
Total responses 311
Self-described answers included: mixed race, bi-racial, Middle Eastern, and Sicilian.
Q23. What best describes your living situation?
Select all that apply.
Answer Choices Response % Responses
Prefer not to say 2.58% 8
Currently own my
home 61.29% 190
Currently renting 30.32% 94
Experiencing housing
insecurity 2.26% 7
Self-described 4.19% 13
Total responses 310
Self-described answers included: living with family
members, and living with roommates.
Q24. Are you currently a caregiver? Note: even if
you're a caregiver as part of paid work, please
select all that apply.
Answer Choices Response % Responses
Prefer not to say 2.89% 9
Take care of children 55.63% 173
Take care of aging
adults 9.32% 29
Take care of adults
with special needs 2.89% 9
Not currently a
caregiver 33.76% 105
Self-described 5.47% 17
Total responses 311
Self-described answers included: aging parents,
disabled partner(s), and pets.
Q25. What languages are spoken in your home?
Select all that apply.
Answer Choices Response
Percent Responses
Prefer not to say 3.28% 10
Arabic 0.00% 0
Cantonese 1.97% 6
English 95.08% 290
Mandarin 0.66% 2
Spanish 8.52% 26
Tagalog 0.66% 2
Vietnamese 1.97% 6
Self-described 6.23% 19
Total responses 305
Self-described answers included: Shanghainese,
French, Malay, Italian, Russian, Korean, Hebrew,
Dutch, and Polish.