CITY OF OAKLAND BUDGET MEMORANDUM
DATE: June 27, 2022TO: City Council and Members of the PublicFROM: Council President Nikki Fortunato BasSUBJECT: Council President’s Amendments to the FY22-23 Mid-Cycle Budget Dear City Council Colleagues and Members of the Public, My Budget Team, composed of CMs Kalb, Fife and Gallo, has been working diligently on amendmentsto the Mayor’s proposed mid-cycle budget for FY 2022-2023.
We have received input from each Councilmember as well as the public. I’d like to remind us thatOakland’s mid-cycle budget is an opportunity to review updated projections of revenue and expensesand adjust to meet the City’s needs — building off the two-year budget we approved last year.
We remain committed to shifting the city budget towards greater equity and addressing systemicdisinvestment in vulnerable and marginalized communities, while we also advance the Council’s fourpolicy priorities.
Our budget amendments focus on:
1. Investing inCity Servicesby investing in ourcityworkerswho deliver those services in orderto retain our staff as we work toward offering competitive wages and benefitsa. Creating a$4.2M GPF (General Purpose Fund) LaborReserveto support settlementof open labor union contracts for “Misc” Workers2. Funding efforts thatconcretely support Oaklanderscitywide whileprioritizing equity inhistorically disinvested flatlandsin East, West andCentral Oakland We also remain committed tofiscal responsibilityby:
1. Prioritizing the use of our $8M Council Contingency Fund for one time programs.2. Considering future staffing and major programs witha. Additional funding forhousing and homelessness, includingTAY (transition agedyouth) housingi. New $1.1 M Grant from HUD-ESG/SHP/HOPWAii. New $9.4 M Grant from Cal HCDiii. Proposed Housing & Infrastructure Bond Ballot Measure (new Measure KK) thatwould raise $350 M for affordable housing
b. Fund balance fortraffic safety— $1.4 M in Measure BB Fund Balancec. Implementation of Measure AA forearly childhood development, including Oakland’sHead Start Program and a potentialEmergency EarlyChildhood Education ProviderFundd. Voter approval of theProgressive And Equitable BusinessTax Below is a summary of our amendments.
Expenditure reductions● Adjusting the vacancy rate from 8% to 10% allows us to set aside a Labor Reserve and fundtargeted new positions that support housing, homelessness, City Councilmembers’ ability toprovide constituent services, critical budget analysis by the Council and Budget AdvisoryCommission, and support for the Oakland Youth Commission● Four staff positions would be delayed in CAO, Finance and HR, which we discussed with theCity Administrator● $500k proposed for special events is reducedby $150kin order to support $90k for LoveLifeCampaign and $60k for Lake Vendor Program● $2M proposed for the SABA Grocers food card program is spread out as $1M in FY 2022-2023and $1M in FY 2023-2024 to help support citywide priorities this coming fiscal year, includingsupporting low-income renters and job readiness programs● We incorporate a number of changes from the Administration including recognizing a $2Mreduction in lease payments to the Coliseum Expenditure additions● A number of additions are for citywide purposes and supported by multiple Councilmembers:○ $40k for outreach and education on new City Council/School Board boundaries fromredistricting○ $1,600,000 for placement of measures on the November ballot by the County Registrar ofVoters○ $700k forlegal services for low-income renters toOakland Housing Secure, in additionto the $1M in the proposed budget○ $1,250,000 for Job Readiness Programs, targeted grants to enhance job readiness forOakland residents who in years past have been personally subjected to the War on Drugs○ Fully funding the 66th Ave Safe RV site with HHAP 3 & Meas Q fund balance and staffvacancy savings (many Councilmembers support this)○ $3.2M will carry forward into the new fiscal year for wildfire prevention andmanagement — $1.6M is unused and will carry forward together with $1.6M budgeted○ As noted above, there are additional funding sources for housing, homelessness and earlychildhood development.○ Also note that $180k for matching funds for a state grant for gun buyback programs isadded through Measure Z. Item No.:________Special Council MeetingJune 30, 2022Page2 ● Staffing○ The Mayor’s proposed budget includes a number of additions, with a significant increasein Fire Department staff.○ As noted above, we limit new staffing from the GPF totargeted new positions thatsupport housing, homelessness, City Councilmembers’ ability to provide constituentservices, critical budget analysis by the Council and Budget Advisory Commission, andsupport for the Oakland Youth Commission. Other staff positions can be considered inthe next 2 year budget. Note that a new position to support ADU development is addedfrom the Development Services Fund.● Councilmember priorities○ We did our best to incorporate Councilmember priorities. Every Councilmember getssome of their requests met in this proposal, as well as some of their requests unmet ordeferred for future consideration. I tried to list all the requests I heard to be transparent,noting which Councilmembers I heard requested them, however many requests aresupported by multiple Councilmembers. Please see the spreadsheet for details. Overall, Itried to ensure greater investment in the flatlands and in priority issues such ashomelessness, violence prevention and economic development.
Budget Policy Directives● Community grants— As noted in the FY 2021-2023 BudgetPolicy Directive and in theApril2022 Staff Report, the process for awarding directcommunity grants by the Council and theMayor should be more transparent and accessible. I included direct community grants in theseproposed amendments to meet immediate needs; however, starting next year as we prepare forthe next two year budget, I urge us to implement this uniform process for budgetary earmarks.● Early childhood development—The city council encouragesthe Measure AA ImplementationPartner and the Advisory Board to allocate a $2 million contingency from the initial allocation ofMeasure AA funds toward an emergency fund to support Early Childhood Education Providers,and to fund Headstart to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of the program.● Summer Foods Programs— Direct the City Administratorto increase equitable access tonutritious meals by outreaching to, and supporting the capacity and participation of communitybased partner sites as well as by increasing the number of open sites through OPRYD andcoordination with Head Start to ensure unhoused and housing insecure families are serviced.● Wilma Chan Park— With the renaming of Madison Parkin honor of the late SupervisorWilma Chan, this proposal includes $100k to place new signs and place-making elements at thepark and fund other ways to help commemorate her legacy. We also direct the City Administratorto assign existing staff to programming activities at the Park, in coordination with Lincoln Parkand Rec Center staff, as the Park is publicly renamed this Fall and as Lincoln Rec undergoesfuture renovation.● Arts and Culture— Direct the City Administrator toprioritize hiring open positions to ensureCultural Affairs can achieve its goals and directives (you could specify some goals if youItem No.:________Special Council MeetingJune 30, 2022Page3 wanted), and explore ways the Administration can subsidize artist performances across the city,for example by identifying what locations would be available for performances that the city ownsor are available to rent.● Public Safety and Violence Prevention— There areseveralpolicy directivesfrom last year’stwo year budget that still need attention and implementation, including:○ Independent Audit of OPD○ Recommendations from the OPD Calls for Service Analysis○ Second Phase of Reimagining Public Safety to Include Restructuring of PoliceDepartment to Focus on Serious and Violent Crime○ Increase Capacity to Investigate and Solve Crimes and Produce Higher Clearance Rateson Homicides, Missing Persons, and Other Serious Crimes by RestructuringInvestigations Units○ Significantly Stand Up MACRO As An Effective Alternate Response System as FirstResponders to Non-Violent Calls for Service○ Moving responsibilities of the Internal Affairs Division to the Community Police ReviewAgency (CPRA) Increasing transparency and accountability is the first step to mending the frayed relationship betweencommunity and law enforcement. Our policy directives above, and the addition of a policy analyst asrecommended by the Budget Advisory Commission, aim to do this through implementing systems andpolicies that increase transparency and accountability in the Oakland Police Department.
A full-time, non-sworn data analyst position can assist in gathering and publishing relevant datasets,including calls for service, as recommended by the OPD Budget/Staffing Workgroup from theReimagining Public Safety Task Force and endorsed by the Budget Advisory Commission. We direct theCity Administrator to establish regular performance metrics related to 911 response times for priority 1calls and clearance rates, especially for violent and serious crimes; and regular reporting of informationon the above to the Public Safety Committee and the full City Council.
Bolstering alternative response systems that put community first will minimize the chances of negativeor violent interactions with police and reducing the number of arrests continues to be of highimportance. A key way to do this is through our policy directive to expand the Mobile AssistanceCommunity Responders of Oakland (MACRO) program citywide. We direct the City Administrator to:○ Begin the process of connecting dispatch to MACRO and directing some non-violent 911calls to MACRO.○ Secure the necessary funds (public and private) to make the program sustainable.
Further investments in violence prevention — During the biennial budget process, we invested heavilyinto the Department of Violence Prevention (DVP) for various programs and services. While thoseinvestments were historic, we need to make sure we invest even more towards DVP’s efforts to address Item No.:________Special Council MeetingJune 30, 2022Page4 community needs and provide trauma informed services in order topreventcrime. We direct the CityAdministrator to:○ Identify funding for the next bi-annual budget cycle.○ Support community ambassadors, adding additional ambassadors throughout the City.
Reform beyond the Negotiated Settlement Agreement. On May 12, 2022, U.S. District Judge WilliamOrrick ruled that OPD is in substantial compliance with NSA and has achieved full compliance with 50of the 51 original NSA tasks. OPD has now entered a one-year “sustainability period”, a probationaryperiod before the end of federal oversight. While this indicates major progress, the department mustcontinue to make the necessary reforms to not only comply with the “sustainability period” but torebuild trust with the residents of Oakland long-term through transparency and accountability asdescribed above and per the recommendations of the Reimagining Public Safety Taskforce.
I look forward to our meeting on June 30th to review our proposed amendments and engage indiscussion toward achieving a balanced budget.
Thank you to the City Administrator, Finance Staff and other Department Staff for supporting ourbudget deliberations.
Respectfully Submitted,
______________________________Nikki Fortunato BasCouncil President, District 2 Attachment: Exhibit 2
Item No.:________Special Council MeetingJune 30, 2022Page5