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Oakland: Homelessness, Housing, Public Safety Top City Council Budget Priorities

Aside from the council, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf identified her priorities for the 2021-23 budget, which she defined as holistic community safety, a responsive, trustworthy government and among other things, housing, economic and cultural security.

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 Homelessness, housing, and public safety are Oakland city councilmembers’ top priorities for the 2021-23 budget, the topic of a council retreat Tuesday.
       Those priorities are at least partially consistent with what Oakland residents see as the city’s most pressing needs, based on a recent survey by FM3 Research, an opinion research and strategy firm.   
       But the mayor and City Council face an expected deficit in the 2021-23 budget even with $192 million coming from the federal American Rescue Plan. Despite that, council President Nikki Fortunato Bas hopes to position Oakland to thrive, not just survive.
       “It’s not enough to go back to where we were,” Bas said, referring to pre-pandemic times when even then many in Oakland were hurting.
       She thinks the council can position the city for a strong economic recovery and she has at least one idea to help do that.
       Bas’s idea is a progressive business tax, which could raise tens of millions of dollars by applying a higher tax rate on larger businesses.
       Currently, Oakland’s business tax rate is flat, which means mom-and-pop businesses pay the same tax rate as Whole Foods Market, which is owned by online retail giant Amazon. Under a progressive tax, Whole Foods would pay more tax on each dollar of sales than smaller stores would.  
       The progressive tax legislation went before the council last year and fell one vote short of passing. She hopes it will get through the council this time and make it on the 2022 ballot.
       “I think it will make a huge difference in terms of providing a stronger revenue base,” she said.
       Council members didn’t discuss what services, if any, may be cut because of the deficit. But adding revenue may alleviate the need to cut services.
       Councilmembers are also looking at how they might reallocate money from police to other services, Bas said.
       Of the $192 million expected from the American Rescue Plan, $44 million will be used to cover a current budget shortfall with the balance going to the 2021-23 budget.
       The process to create a balanced 2021-23 budget started Tuesday and must be approved in June.
       Aside from the council, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf identified her priorities for the 2021-23 budget, which she defined as holistic community safety, a responsive, trustworthy government, and among other things, housing, economic and cultural security.
       The mayor did not get more specific in the document she provided to the Oakland Finance Department.  
       In the survey by FM3 Research, 50% of Oakland residents said housing and homelessness are the top issues they would like elected officials to address in the upcoming budget.  
       Thirty-six percent said cutting the police budget should be the first or second step to easing the city’s budget deficit, while 58% said someone other than police should respond to mental health crises that are not violent.
     

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

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To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

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District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones
District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing.  Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

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Bay Area

State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference

California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

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American Business Women’s Association Vice President Velma Landers, left, with California State Controller Malia Cohen (center), and ABWA President LaRonda Smith at the Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the ABWA at the Black Wealth Brunch.
American Business Women’s Association Vice President Velma Landers, left, with California State Controller Malia Cohen (center), and ABWA President LaRonda Smith at the Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the ABWA at the Black Wealth Brunch.

By Carla Thomas

California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco.

The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.

ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.

“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.

More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.

Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.

“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.

“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.

“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.

By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”

Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”

Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.

“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”

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