Council proposes solutions to city’s budget challenges

Community urges county to move forward on Coliseum development

By Ken Epstein

The Oakland City Council has identified proposals for stronger fiscal solutions and will be able to avoid declaring a fiscal emergency in Oakland, according to Vice-Mayor and Councilmember-at Large Rebecca Kaplan.

“The Oakland City Council is prioritizing community safety, housing security, essential services to keep our city safe, healthy and vibrant, and collecting outstanding revenue that are owed – as well as transparency in making fiscally sound decisions based on real financial data,” Kaplan said in a written statement to the Oakland Post discussing the City Council budget discussion.

With a new report brought to Council at its Dec. 9 special budget meeting, there are now several important improvements. The recommendation for declaring a fiscal emergency has been removed, clarifying that Oakland is NOT at risk of insolvency, she said.

Additionally, extra funds from special fund sources and enterprise funds, have been identified that are available to be used to ensure fiscal solvency.

“Yesterday, the City Council discussed a ‘Back to Basics’ approach to our budget and city services,” said Council President Nikki Fortunato-Bas.  “While our financial situation requires action, the Council has previously provided direction to the City Administrator through the contingency budget, and we discussed the City Administrator’s further proposals for how to rebalance our Midcycle Budget to close our current fiscal year projected deficit.”

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“Importantly, we are ensuring our reserve is at the required level, and we do not need to declare a fiscal emergency under our Consolidated Fiscal Policy,” she said.

Kaplan said, “It is vital to protect core public services and the long-term fiscal solvency of our city.”

Continuing, she said, “I am honored that extra available funds I had previously identified have been confirmed and are being incorporated into budget strategies, allowing Oakland to reduce cuts and restore reserves.”

In addition, she said, Important public-serving and revenue-generating functions are being strengthened, including to reduce blight and provide safer, cleaner streets.”

Councilmember Carroll Fife said she appreciated the leadership of Bas’s new budget team who worked with the City Administrator and the Finance Department “to get us on the right track through exploration of all available options for fiscal stability.”

“No doubt we are facing challenges, but I am confident that the decisions we are making will set us up for long-term success,” Fife said.  “I am particularly grateful for the institutional memory and fiscal acumen of Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, who weeks ago suggested some of the steps now being taken that averts the crisis previously communicated to the public. This is a better deal for Oakland.”

‘The safety of the community is front-of-mind,” said Kaplan. “It is vital to protect the public from dangerous hazards, including crime and violence, fires, traffic dangers, and more.”

This new balanced and comprehensive approach protects and strengthens these vital investments in our safety, she said.  The Fire Department, which had been preserved from cuts in July, was able to rapidly stop the Keller Fire from growing out of control, preventing a repeat of the horrific loss of life and homes during the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire.

Investments in the Oakland Police Department and the Department of Violence Prevention have yielded the fastest and most dramatic reduction in homicides in our city’s history, with levels now far below those of the prior several years, said Kaplan.

“The City’s deep investments in public safety over the past year continue to pay off, with homicides down 34% year-to-date and overall crime down by 33% since last year,” she said.

“Our Public Safety Leadership team is very strong with OPD Chief Floyd Mitchell, Department of Violence Prevention (DVP) Chief Dr. Holly Joshi, OFD Chief Damon Covington, and their deputy chiefs having over a century of collective experience in Oakland,” Bas said.

The budget proposals preserve Oakland’s Ceasefire violence intervention strategy, prioritize OPD patrol and investigations, and continue services to improve 911 response times, with 71% of calls answered within 15 seconds or less – a dramatic improvement over the prior year, Kaplan added.

“Oakland’s investments in sidewalk repair, street paving, clearing abandoned autos, and safer conditions on our roadways are improving both safety and quality of life,” she said. “The proposals restore funding for important and needed bicycle and pedestrian safety projects, street paving, parking enforcement, and more.”

Along with budget balancing actions in the immediate term, city leaders continue to urge the County to act on the Coliseum land sale, which will strengthen development and bring in revenue to support City and County needs, she said.

Bas said that over 90 speakers at the budget meeting spoke passionately about the city’s cultural arts, senior services, safety, parks and recreation, wage theft enforcement, community well-being, and calling on the County to move forward on Coliseum development.

Speakers also expressed appreciation for the thousands of dedicated city workers – including those who made recommendations for a more sustainable budget and identified efficient and effective strategies.

Ken Epstein

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