CITY OF OAKLAND
CITY HALL • 1 FRANK H. OGAWA PLAZA • OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA 94612 #LoveLife
REBECCA KAPLAN (510) 238-7008 Vice Mayor FAX: (510) 238-6910
District At Large TDD: (510) 839-6451 City Council
January 18, 2022
File # 21-0952
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Date: January 18, 2022
To: Members of City Council and Members of the Public
From: Vice Mayor Kaplan
Re: Resolution Amending Resolution 88717 C.M.S. To Amend The Fiscal Year 2021- 2023 Adopted Biennial Budget To Reallocate Funds From Oakland Police Department Public Relations/Public Information Officer (PIO) Purposes, To Go To East Oakland Police Patrol And The City Administrator, As Shown In Exhibit 1 Dear Colleagues on the City Council and Members of the Public,
On June 24, 2021, the Council adopted Resolution No. 88717 which authorized the Biennial budget for fiscal years 2021- 23 and appropriated certain funds to provide for the expenditures proposed by the budget. Since the adoption of the Biennial budget, the Council has made necessary budgetary adjustments to respond to immediate needs in the City. This resolution adopts a budget amendment to reallocate funds from Oakland Police Department (OPD) public relation purposes to East Oakland Police Patrol and the City Administrator’s Office in order to protect residents and respond to increases in violent crime.
The City of Oakland is currently experiencing a serious rise in violent crime. According to the OPD’s End of Year Crime Report, homicides (as defined by Penal Code 187(a)) across the city are up 22% and aggravated assaults with a firearm are up 20% compared to 2020. Examining city crime data more closely, we find incidents of violent crime occurred within localized areas of the City. Of the 124 homicides reported in 2021, 70 occurred in Police Areas 4 and 5, confining 56% of all homicides during this time period within the boundaries of East Oakland. Furthermore, of the 599 instances of aggravated assault with a firearm that occurred in 2021, 54%, or 324, also took place in the same police beats in East Oakland.
Currently, the Police Department has budgeted two sworn and one civilian public information positions which serve as the Department’s spokespersons and liaisons between the Department and the media. Given the clear need for officers to respond to the increases in violent crime, the cost of two public information positions should be reallocated to provide more resources for boots -on-the- ground patrol and to the City Administrator's office: one sworn Police Officer PIO with a cost of $270,038 per year and the civilian Assistant to the Director - Strategic Communications Manager with a cost of $271,518 per year.
City Council
January 18, 2022
File # 21-0952
2 Shifting funds to bolster patrol fulfills an urgent community need. In addition, this reallocation maintains one of three public information officer positions within the police department - paralleling the number of staff other departments with public information officers have. Retaining one PIO will allow the department to disseminate objective, truthful, and unbiased information, as this should be their top priority and primary role to reduce crime and improve public safety.
Therefore, this resolution adopts a budget amendment to the biennial budget for fiscal years 2021- 2023 to reallocate funds from OPD public relations/PIO purposes, to go to East Oakland police resources and the City Administrator, as shown in Exhibit 1. This will allow for resources to be devoted to covering hard- hit areas, commercial corridors, and areas hard -hit by armed robbery, and focus on East Oakland. This reallocation of funds directly responds to the needs of the City and protects Oakland residents.
Best wishes,
Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan