Public Works And Transportation Committee
February 10, 2026
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Jestin D. Johnson FROM: Bradley Johnson
City Administrator Director of Finance
SUBJECT: Reorganizing Of The Parking Division DATE: January 29, 2026
City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That The City Council Receive An Informational Report From The City Administrator On The Proposed Reorganization Of The Department Of Transportation’s Parking Division, Including (1) The Rationale For The Proposal; (2) A Fiscal Impact Statement Including Any New Or Unfrozen Staff Costs And An Analysis Of Operational Cost Savings; (3) A Summary Of Outreach That Occurred To Department Of Transportation Staff, The Public, And The Business Community; And (4) Information On How The Change Would Impact The Parking Division’s Collaboration With Other Departments.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report outlines the Administration’s plan to reorganize the parking operations of the City.
The goal of this reorganization is to better align the parking operations of the City with revenue and collections processes housed in the Department of Finance (Finance) and abandoned automobile abatement functions housed in the Oakland Police Department (OPD). Parking Policy establishment will remain the purview of the Oakland Department of Transportation (DOT). There are minimal increased costs to the proposal, and such costs would be advisable regardless of reorganization. The administration has met internally with department leadership and with the respective union leadership of the affected staff. The Administration believes that the new organizational structure will support greater functional alignment with Finance and OPD without reductions in collaboration with functions remaining in DOT.
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
The City Parking functions previously housed within the Parking Division within the Finance and Management Agency for a period of roughly 20 years. In 2013, following the mid-year budgetary actions that resulted from the shuttering of the Oakland Redevelopment Agency, the Parking Division’s functions were redistributed to Oakland Public Works, OPD, and the Revenue Management Bureau (RMB) within Finance.
Jestin Johnson (Jan 29, 2026 18:19:04 PST)
01/29/2026
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Reorganizing Of The Parking Division
Date: January 29, 2026 Page 2
Public Works and Transportation Committee
February 10, 2026
Following the establishment of DOT from OPW as a parent department, the parking functions previously in OPW were housed in DOT. The first non-OPW to function to transfer to DOT were the functions in the Oakland Police Department related to parking enforcement; subsequently, collections, processing, and customer service functions in the Revenue Bureau of Finance were later transferred to DOT. More recently, DOT initiated functions related to abandoned automobile abatement in rights-of-way; abandoned automobile work was previously an exclusive function of OPD.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
The proposed reorganization would transfer some duties and functions to Finance and OPD.
The goal of this reorganization is to better align the parking operations of the City with revenue and collections processes housed in the Finance and abandoned automobile abatement functions housed in OPD. The greater alignment with the Finance Department is intended to streamline and improve the citations collection process. Delays or inaccurate data in citations result in high rates of delinquency and decreased collectability revenue. Tighter alignment will also allow parking patrons to take advantage of existing City programs, such as payment plans for citations, and improve customer service. Finance will also aim to improve the cash handling, internal control, audit, and financial management practices related to parking citations. With regard to OPD, the reorganization will collocate the abandoned auto function that is being established in DOT with the recent home of that function within OPD. OPD handles the majority of abandoned auto cases, and enhanced coordination of these efforts will improve the City’s ability to remove abandoned vehicles from the rights-of-way.
The responsibilities under the new organizational structure are noted below:
1. Responsibilities of Finance
a. Parking enforcement and management of all associated staff b. Parking Citation Customer Center, including administration of Speed Safety Camera citations, and management of all associated staff
c. Parking Fines and Fees Collection and management of all associated staff, including associated contracts.
d. Parking Meter Coin Collection and management of all associated staff e. Issuance of individual RPP permits, based on established zones f. Management and operation of parking garages and off-street lots, including setting rates, enforcement, maintenance as included in operating contracts, and capital upgrades (through the CIP process), including associated contracts.
2. Responsibilities of Department of Transportation
a. Establish and update on-street of off-street parking policy in accordance with Oakland Parking Principles 84664 C.M.S., including the Council directive that parking be managed as part of a holistic transportation system. Specific duties include, but are not limited to:
set meter rates based on demand-responsive pricing,
set garage rates based on parking demand
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Reorganizing Of The Parking Division
Date: January 29, 2026 Page 3
Public Works and Transportation Committee
February 10, 2026
establish and modify parking meter zones,
responding to color curb requests, and
establishing and modifying residential parking permit zones. b. Physical On-Street Parking Instructure installation and maintenance, and meter repair
c. All Matters pertaining to traffic, parking, and right-of-way management – parking space addition/deletion, loading zone addition/deletion, fire zone addition/deletion, fire code compliance, etc.
d. Operation of the speed camera program, including camera placement, system evaluation, compliance reports to the state, monitoring system expenditures and revenues, and making policy recommendations.
3. Responsibilities of the Oakland Police Department
a. Enforcement and management of all staff assigned to abandoned auto removal, including dedicated staff for the removal of abandoned vehicles in rights-of-way to facilitate mobility and public safety.
4. Joint Responsibilities DOT and Finance
a. Parking Meter / Parking Fee Collection Technology, Expansion, Installation, and Repair, including associated contracts – Apps, Machines, Contracts, Payment Options
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Reorganizing Of The Parking Division
Date: January 29, 2026 Page 4
Public Works and Transportation Committee
February 10, 2026
The below organizational charts note the reorganization of currently budgeted positions within the relevant Departments.
FISCAL IMPACT
In the course of the scoping of the reorganization, the administration has identified two position changes that could have fiscal impacts. A Project Manager II currently leads the DOT parking division the position would be revised to a Parking Administrator within the Finance Department, with an annual incremental cost of roughly $16,500 fully burdened. The partial year cost of this position is estimated to be less than $6,500 for the remainder of FY 2025-26. Currently the Parking Citations & Mobility Assistance Center does not have a supervisor and is instead reporting to the Project Manager II; the staff recommends additional supervision of this revenue collecting body given both the current functions of the center and the new functions tied to speed enforcement cameras. Thus, the administration will augment the center with a Parking Supervisor at an annual cost of roughly $209,000, which is a cost of roughly $87,000 for the remainder of the current fiscal year. Both costs can be supported because there is substantial existing vacancy savings within the parking division in the General Purpose Fund (1010) and Multipurpose Garages Fund (1750). There is no need to undertake an add-delete positions process.
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
As a part of the reorganization process, the administration has met on several occasions with Local 21 and SEIU Local 1021 regarding the impacts of the reorganization. Conversations with these unions are ongoing. Prior to February 6th, Finance leadership, SEIU represented members, and SEIU staff plan to have a substantive in person conversation regarding the reorganization. No public outreach was deemed necessary for this informational report beyond the standard City Council agenda noticing procedures.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Reorganizing Of The Parking Division
Date: January 29, 2026 Page 5
Public Works and Transportation Committee
February 10, 2026
Bradley Johnson (Jan 29, 2026 16:43:37 PST)
COORDINATION
This report was prepared in coordination between the Finance Department, the Oakland Department of Transportation, the Oakland Police Department, and the City Administrator’s Office
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: No direct economic opportunities have been identified.
Environmental: No direct environmental impacts have been identified.
Race & Equity: No direct Race & Equity opportunities have been identified in this informational report, nor was a racial equity analysis conducted.
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council Receive An Informational Report From The City Administrator On The Proposed Reorganization Of The Department Of Transportation’s Parking Division, Including (1) The Rationale For The Proposal; (2) A Fiscal Impact Statement Including Any New Or Unfrozen Staff Costs And An Analysis Of Operational Cost Savings; (3) A Summary Of Outreach That Occurred To Department Of Transportation Staff, The Public, And The Business Community; And (4) Information On How The Change Would Impact The Parking Division’s Collaboration With Other Departments.
For questions regarding this report, please contact Bradley Johnson, Director of Finance, at (510) 207-5730
Respectfully submitted,
BRADLEY JOHNSON
Director of Finance, Finance Department
Reviewed by:
Josh Rowan,
Director of Transportation
Deborah Edgerly,
CAO - Annuitant