City Government

City Council Set to Approve New Budget

Published

11 years ago

June 26, 2015

As the Oakland City Council prepares to vote on the city budget for the next two years, Council President Lynette Gibson McElhaney and Mayor Libby Schaaf are saying they are in basic agreement on spending priorities, including enhancing public safety, filing in potholes and providing services to support the city’s most vulnerable residents, including children and senior citizens.

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The practice in Oakland is that the mayor recommends a budget, but the council ultimately makes the decision. Council members have been holding a series of budget hearings, making their own proposals, and are scheduled to vote Tuesday on the final budget for fiscal 2015-2017.

According to McElhaney, her budget proposal prioritizes care for children, elderly, families and the vulnerable; protecting and promotes equity in Oakland’s diverse community.

In addition, McElhaney says her proposal adds additional community safety measures to the mayor’s budget. “What became most clear to me during our budget discussions was the desire to focus our limited resources on those who are most in need.” she said. “The city must be a leader in addressing racial and other forms of inequity in our community.”

Council President Lynette Gibson McElhaney

Mayor Schaaf told the Post that her and McElhaney’s proposals complement each other. McElhaney has added additional services for the community because the city has recently learned that its revenue is higher than was previously expected, she said.

“I am pleased with the council president’s latest proposal. It preserves and enhances my proposal based on new revenue,” said Schaaf.

McElhaney said she appreciated the solid foundation of the mayor’s budget and the inclusion of many of the councilmembers’ priorities in that proposal. She said her amendments “refine the mayor’s proposals to reflect what I believe are priorities and values expressed by members of the council and public, over many months of public discourse.”

McElhaney’s proposal includes an investment in a new office of Race and Equity, proposed and championed by Councilmember Desley Brooks.

The proposal allocates funding to reduce chronic school absenteeism in partnership with the Oakland Unified School District; trains pre-school teachers for quality instruction in the Head Start Program; creates youth summer jobs; and provides grants and scholarships for low-income youth to participate in Oakland Parks and Recreation programs.

The council president’s budget builds on the mayor’s proposals for increased police staffing, adding three police evidence technicians and one crime analyst to help solve crime, and providing additional staff in the City Attorney’s office to support code enforcement to address blighted properties.

Seeking to deal with ongoing complaints about potholes and the need for street repairs, McElhaney’s budget will spend $2 million for additional street repaving and unfreezes positions dedicated to illegal dumping and blight removal.

Mayor Schaaf said she shares McElhaney’s desire to enhance programs for the most vulnerable residents of the city. She also agrees with the “commitment to a holistic approach to public safety, not just growing our police department but also committing to prevention and intervention programs,” including programs to combat chronic student absenteeism and creating college savings accounts for students.

Schaaf also supports the inclusion of full funding for the new Department of Race and Equity, a reentry jobs program and significant salary increases for city workers.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 24 – 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

Published

6 days ago

December 25, 2025

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Oakland Council Expands Citywide Security Cameras Despite Major Opposition

In a 7-1 vote in favor of the contract, with only District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife voting no, the Council agreed to maintain its existing network of 291 cameras and add 40 new “pan-tilt-zoom cameras.”

Published

1 week ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

At the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Flock Safety introduces new public safety technology – Amplified Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools designed to improve law enforcement investigations. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland City Council this week approved a $2.25 million contract with Flock Safety for a mass surveillance network of hundreds of security cameras to track vehicles in the city.

In recent weeks hundreds of local residents have spoken against the camera system, raising concerns that data will be shared with immigration authorities and other federal agencies at a time when mass surveillance is growing across the country with little regard for individual rights.

The Flock network, supported by the Oakland Police Department, has the backing of residents and councilmembers who see it as an important tool to protect public safety.

“This system makes the Department more efficient as it allows for information related to disruptive/violent criminal activities to be captured … and allows for precise and focused enforcement,” OPD wrote in its proposal to City Council.

According to OPD, police made 232 arrests using data from Flock cameras between July 2024 and November of this year.

Based on the data, police say they recovered 68 guns, and utilizing the countywide system, they have found 1,100 stolen vehicles.

However, Flock’s cameras cast a wide net. The company’s cameras in Oakland last month captured license plate numbers and other information from about 1.4 million vehicles.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Fife was critical of her colleagues for signing a contract with a company that has been in the national spotlight for sharing data with federal agencies.

Flock’s cameras – which are automated license plate readers – have been used in tracking people who have had abortions, monitoring protesters, and aiding in deportation roundups.

“I don’t know how we get up and have several press conferences talking about how we are supportive of a sanctuary city status but then use a vendor that has been shown to have a direct relationship with (the U.S.) Border Control,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Several councilmembers who voted in favor of the contract said they supported the deal as long as some safeguards were written into the Council’s resolution.

“We’re not aiming for perfection,” said District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger. “This is not Orwellian facial recognition technology — that’s prohibited in Oakland. The road forward here is to add as many amendments as we can.”

Amendments passed by the Council prohibit OPD from sharing camera data with any other agencies for the purpose of “criminalizing reproductive or gender affirming healthcare” or for federal immigration enforcement. California state law also prohibits the sharing of license plate reader data with the federal government, and because Oakland’s sanctuary city status, OPD is not allowed to cooperate with immigration authorities.

A former member of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission has sued OPD, alleging that it has violated its own rules around data sharing.

So far, OPD has shared Flock data with 50 other law enforcement agencies.

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Black Arts Movement Business District Named New Cultural District in California

Located in the heart of District 3, the BAMBD is widely regarded as one of the nation’s most important centers of Black cultural production — a space where artists, entrepreneurs, organizers, and cultural workers have shaped generations of local and national identity. The state’s recognition affirms the district’s historic importance and its future promise.

Published

2 weeks ago

December 20, 2025

Oakland Post

Councilmember Carroll Fife celebrates major milestone for Black arts, culture, and economic power in Oakland. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

Oakland’s Black Arts Movement Business District (BAMBD) has been selected as one of California’s 10 new state-designated Cultural Districts, a distinction awarded by the California Arts Council (CAC), according to a media statement released by Councilmember Carroll Fife.

The BAMBD now joins 23 other districts across the state recognized for their deep cultural legacy, artistic excellence, and contributions to California’s creative economy.

“This designation is a testament to what Black Oakland has built — and what we continue to build when we insist on investing in our own cultural and economic power,” said Fife.

“For years, our community has fought for meaningful recognition and resources for the Black Arts Movement Business District,” she said. “This announcement validates that work and ensures that BAMBD receives the support it needs to grow, thrive, and continue shaping the cultural fabric of California.”

Since taking office, Fife has led and supported multiple initiatives that strengthened the groundwork for this achievement, including:

Restoring and protecting arts and cultural staffing within the City of Oakland.
Creating the West Oakland Community Fund to reinvest in historically excluded communities
Advancing a Black New Deal study to expand economic opportunity for Black Oakland
Ensuring racial equity impact analyses for development proposals, improving access for Black businesses and Black contractors
Introduced legislation and budget amendments that formalized, protected, and expanded the BAMBD

“These efforts weren’t abstract,” Fife said. “They were intentional, coordinated, and rooted in a belief that Black arts and Black businesses deserve deep, sustained public investment.”

As part of the Cultural District designation, BAMBD will receive:

$10,000 over two years
Dedicated technical assistance
Statewide marketing and branding support
Official designation from Jan. 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2030

This support will elevate the visibility of BAMBD’s artists, cultural organizations, small businesses, and legacy institutions, while helping attract new investment to the district.

“The BAMBD has always been more than a district,” Fife continued. “This recognition by the State of California gives us another tool in the fight to preserve Black culture, build Black economic power, and protect the families and institutions that make Oakland strong.”

For questions, contact Councilmember Carroll Fife at CFife@oaklandca.gov.