CITY OF OAKLAND
BUDGETMEMORANDUM
DATE: June 16, 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, I am working with my Budget Team of CMs Kalb, Fife and Gallo on amendments to the Mayor’sproposed mid-cycle budget for FY 2022-2023.
Oakland’s two-year budget was approved last year and this mid-cycle amendment is anopportunity to review updated projections of revenue and expenses and adjust to meet the City’sneeds.
As a reminder, with the two-year budget Council approved last year, we are seeking to shift thecity budget towards greater equity and addressing systemic disinvestment in vulnerable andmarginalized communities. To this end, our budget team is developing amendments to themid-cycle budget that further the four priorities our Council developed last year, with input fromthe entire Council through our public budget meetings and feedback from the public. Thesepriorities are:
1. Affordable housing and homelessness solutions,2. Public safety and violence prevention,3. Good jobs and a vibrant economy, and4. Clean, healthy, sustainable neighborhoods.
PrioritiesThese are among the major budget priorities we are working towards with our amendments,which we have heard from the Council and members of the public. ● City Services— settle the open labor union contractswith city workers to improverecruitment, hiring and retention, fill vacancies and deliver city services● Affordable housing— invest in preservation of affordablehousing and transitional ageyouth (TAY) housing● Homelessness solutions— provide trash collectionand sanitation to more encampments,expand RV safe parking, acquire Lake Merritt Lodge● MACRO— ensure the citywide expansion and sustainabilityof the program● Headstart— ensure Head Start is effectively staffedand sites remain open● Parks— improvements and services to parks that expandsafety and accessibility
● Transparency and accountability in OPD budget, as the largest portion of the GeneralPurpose Fund and in alignment with the recommendations of the Reimagining PublicSafety Task Force and Budget Advisory Committee We also have numerous requests from boards and commissions (including the OaklandYouth Commission, Budget Advisory Commission and the SSB Community AdvisoryBoard) and several community organizations.
We will have to make choices to address a variety of needs and achieve a balanced budget.
TimelineCouncilmembers are finalizing budget questions and costing requests for the FinanceDepartment. I urge us all tosubmit these questionsby Friday, June 17so that we receive timelyanswers to prepare budget amendments. Below is an estimated timeline for approval of themid-cycle budget:
● June 21, 10:30am Special Council meeting- (1) discussproposed budget and potentialamendments (this is an opportunity for all Councilmembers to share their specificpriorities so please come prepared to do so) and (2) OPD Calls for Service Analysis (thisreport was a policy directive in last year’s budget to assist in diverting certainnon-violent, non-criminal calls for services to other departments or services to allowOPD to better focus on serious and violent crime)● June 30, 10am Special Council meeting- review ofproposed amendments anddiscussion and approval of mid-cycle budget● If needed, we may schedule additional special meetings.
I look forward to our discussion and appreciate the work of our Finance Staff and otherDepartment Staff in supporting our budget deliberations.
Respectfully Submitted,
______________________________Nikki Fortunato BasCouncil President, District 2 Item No.:________Special Council MeetingJune 21, 2022Page2