Oakland Roadmap to
Fiscal Health
What is the Roadmap?
• A multi-year plan to improve the City’s financial position and the quality of the services it provides.
• Complicated strategic projects with aggressive but achievable timelines.
• Transparent work, with regular public updates and recommendations to the Council and Mayor to provide feedback and direction.
Restoring the City’s fiscal health
Oakland’s finances have been strained in recent years:
• Pandemic impacts on tax revenue base + high-inflation driving costs • Use of one-time funds to cover ongoing financial problems • Five-year structural budget gap of $130M annually
Recent progress has been real:
• Quick action to close last year’s mid-year budget gap • Passage of a sales tax increase in May
• Adoption of a more structurally balanced budget
But returning to full financial health will take
sustained effort and action over several years
Strategic projects and key
milestones
1. Form executive project management team
Completed
2. Adopt a structurally-sound budget
Completed
3. Approve a parcel tax to diversify the City’s revenue base Recommendations and options to Council in October 2025
Council action in January 2026
Election in June 2026
Strategic projects and key
milestones
4. Multi-year plan to meet voter-adopted service mandates Phased plan to Council by January 2026
Informs biannual budget update (and beyond)
5. Stabilize rising pension and other long-liabilities
Not a single path - mix of different actions likely
Recommendations by March 2026
Informs future budgets and bargaining cycles
Strategic projects and key
milestones
Strategic projects and key
milestones
6. Federal and State contingency plans
Alignment of federal, state, county, and city services
Interim report to Council on at risk funds by September 2025 Prioritized contingency plan by May 2026
7. Updated fiscal policies and practices
Reserves, special funds, calendar, practices review
Review and recommendations by October 2026
8. Multi-year infrastructure plans
Capital, fleet, and systems long-term investment plans
First plans to Council by December 2026
Strategic projects and key
milestones
9. Improved revenue collections
Many individual projects through 2028
2025 focus: Filling key finance positions, delinquent revenues, outreach
10. Economic development plans and actions
Economic development action plan to Council in September 2026 Permitting and regulatory process improvements
Linking economic and financial goals and outcomes
Strategic projects and key
milestones
11. City and contractor performance and accountability
Builds from the City’s Strategic Plan
Department performance measurement and management
Contracting process & contractor performance links
Beyond solvency to financial
health
• Oakland has made real progress towards stabilizing its finances in 2025.
Sustained focus and effort will be needed to build from here. • Restoring full fiscal health will allow us to provide the services residents deserve - with the financial resilience to weather future storms. • The Roadmap sets an aggressive but achievable set of goals to get there.
Questions and comments?