Comparing Budget Options
Option 1
Proposed Budget, with Coliseum sale and 9/1 Contingency Police Department
678 police officer positions
Three police academies
$39.1 million overtime budget
Maintains Ceasefire Unit and Crime Reduction Teams
Fire Department
All fire engines operational
Violence Prevention Dept.
Adds 5 new Ceasefire positions, maintains capacity to add new clients Option 2
Alternative Proposal, without Coliseum sale
Police Department
610 police officer positions
Only one police academy
$35.8 million overtime budget
Likely reductions to Ceasefire and Crime Reduction Teams** Fire Department
4 fire engine brownouts
Violence Prevention Dept.
Freezes 6 Ceasefire positions, halts Ceasefire strategy citywide Council President Budget Team: Bas, Kalb, Fife, Jenkins ** Pending development of OPD deployment plan to accommodate reduction to 610 police officers 1 Public Safety Budget Motion
Council President Budget Team: Bas, Kalb, Fife, Jenkins Adopt Budget Option #1, with $63M from Coliseum sale, and our amendments and policy directives; with Sept. 1, 2024 trigger date for the Contingency Budget if the Coliseum revenue is not received.
Direct the City Administrator to work with the Council President & Finance Chair on a Disclosure Statement.
Direct the City Administrator to come back to Council at a special meeting in late July/early August to:
Review Contingency Budget, including safety operations with Police, Fire and Violence Prevention Chiefs Provide an update on the citywide Strategic Planning Process 2 Amendments
Council President Budget Team: Bas, Kalb, Fife, Jenkins 6/28 Amendments include those of other Councilmembers
Community Ambassadors - $300,000 ($600,000 total incl CAO addition) (Ramachandran, Reid, Gallo) Sideshow prevention in District 6 & citywide - $200,000 1 Fire Captain (Kaplan, Ramachandran)
3 OPD civilian investigators (Kaplan, Ramachandran)
1 CPRA (Community Police Review Agency) Attorney
1 Program Analyst II in Community Homelessness Services Division Portapotties (2) in District 1 to offset costs funded by comm. gps, & neighbors 2 Parking Control Technicians (Kaplan)
Freeze instead of delete 9 Fire Inspectors (Ramachandran) 3 Amendments (cont’d)
Council President Budget Team: Bas, Kalb, Fife, Jenkins Support seniors – SOS Meals on Wheels ($300k), Family Bridges ($79,680), Vietnamese Community Development Inc. ($18,360) Lake Merritt Parking Benefits District – Parks maintenance ($150k), Traffic $ Safety management ($50k) Independent Audit of Revenue Bureau by City Auditor ($200k) Restore Limited Public Financing for 2024 election ($155k) Outside financial consultant to support and advise Council in biennial budget process ($75k) Translation & interpretation for Council Budget Town Halls ($14,310) Freeze instead of delete 3 Human Resources position for timely recruiting and hiring to fill vacancies 4 Amendments (cont’d)
Council President Budget Team: Bas, Kalb, Fife, Jenkins 7/2 Amendments include CM Kaplan’s additions
Fund 1010 (Gen. Fund) – Add 1 FTE Pool Tech, start Oct.; Restore Democracy Dollars Start Up Funds for IT - $97,790 Fund 2415 (Devt. Serv.) – Add 2 FTE Permit Tech II
Fund 2218 (Transpo.)
Abandoned Auto Enforcement - $500,000
Hazard Reduction Parking Enforcement - $200,000
Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure - $100,000
Unfreeze 1 FTE Concrete Finisher (sidewalk repair)
Unfreeze 1 FTE Public Works Maintenance Worker (sidewalks) 5 Policy Directives
Council President Budget Team: Bas, Kalb, Fife, Jenkins Direct the City Administrator to explore a quarter and half-cent sales tax increase for either a special election or the 2026 general election, including the potential dollar amount such a tax could raise. The results of these findings should be presented at a Finance and Management Committee meeting no later than March 2025. (CM Jenkins) Direct the City Administrator to develop alternatives for the City Council to achieve full implementation of a fully funded Democracy Dollars program by 2028. The plan should include recommendations for a sustainable funding mechanism to ensure the program's ongoing success. If the analysis fails to identify a suitable funding formula, the City Administrator should present options to either scale back the Democracy Dollars program or propose an alternative program. (CM Jenkins) 6 Policy Directives (cont’d)
Council President Budget Team: Bas, Kalb, Fife, Jenkins Direct the City Administrator to conduct a 10-year Capital Plan and Asset Inventory – a centralized, comprehensive report of fixed assets, including buildings and facilities, and evaluation of costs associated with maintaining, repairing, or replacing each facility. This asset inventory should incorporate equity principles, align with the city’s financial bonding capacity, and promote efficient delivery of capital improvement projects. (CP Bas) Direct the City Administrator to consider equitable senior services to the AAPI and Latinx communities as the City conducts its strategic planning. Evaluate grant outcomes and incorporate ongoing systems and collaborations to ensure culturally and linguistically accessible senior services for recent immigrant and refugee AAPI and Latinx communities, building on over 20-years of partnership with established institutions and providers with a proven track record of dedicated programming and services. Over the past two decades, these partnerships have supplemented the services of the City’s four Senior Centers. (CP Bas) 7 Policy Directives (cont’d)
Council President Budget Team: Bas, Kalb, Fife, Jenkins Crime Lab positions which existed previously, but are not funded in this budget, will remain frozen instead of being deleted, to allow hiring in the future. (CM Kaplan) (From June 2023 Budget) Direct the City Administrator to research and apply for local, state, and federal grants/programs that accelerate the City’s efforts to procure, operate, and manage a zero-emission vehicle fleet and build out the City’s zero-emission charging and fueling infrastructure as outlined in the City’s Zero Emission Vehicle Action Plan, Action CL-8 – Accelerate City Fleet Vehicle Replacement. (CM Kaplan) 8 Council President Budget Team: Bas, Kalb, Fife, Jenkins The following should be done as scheduling requests:
The City Administrator or designee shall return to the Oakland City Council with a plan to fund the purchase of a fixed wing aircraft and any related needed approvals to proceed with the acquisition, no later than with the proposed 2025- 2027 budget. (CM Kaplan) Administration and OakDOT is authorized to proceed with providing sidewalk repairs where appropriate, for private property sidewalks, and bill the cost to the owner, and report back with the future budget on completion rates and recovery rates and any suggestions to further strengthen the program. (CM Kaplan) See Fund 2218 budget amendment, line 3, funds personnel to clear backlog of abandoned autos. Due to recovered fees and fines some revenue should return. However, the revenue amount is not incuded in this spreadsheet. Administration or designee is requested to report back to Council, by March 2025, on whether fees, outstanding obligations/tickets, and related costs are being sufficiently recovered from abandoned autos, any suggested improvements, and dollar amounts recovered. (CM Kaplan) 9 Council President Budget Team: Bas, Kalb, Fife, Jenkins Scheduling requests (continued):
Revenue collection: Re-initiate the system to find and identify businesses that have not filed. The City Administrator or their designee is requested to report back to the City Council by March 2025 on the revenue work of identifying and billing businesses that had not filed their business license tax. (CM Kaplan) (Also combine with report on Revenue Audit and CAO Revenue Improvements.) A more stable future, building the ongoing tax base: As the May 17, 2024, General Purpose Fund Major Revenue Sources Overview Report explains, the most stable and reliable source of funding for vital local public services is Property Tax. By advancing economic development, including the activation of currently non-generating sites, we can expand our tax base and permanently improve our fiscal stability. Therefore, the City Administrator or their designee is requested to bring back the report, discussion, and update the Community & Economic Development Committee (CED) in Fall 2024. (CM Kaplan) 10