Bay Area

The Waiting Begins, Oakland Passes Budget With Uncertainty of Coliseum Funds Coming to Save Them

After 12 hours of deliberation over two days, the Oakland City Council passed their mid-cycle budget Tuesday afternoon. This budget is contingent on the city receiving $105 million from the sale of the Coliseum stadium. Oakland is currently in the process of selling their half of the 112-acre stadium complex, where the A’s are playing their last season before heading to Sacramento, to the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG) as part of Mayor Sheng Thao’s plan to eliminate the over $100 million shortfall for this year’s budget.

Published

2 years ago

July 8, 2024

Oakland Post

Oakland City Council passed a risky budget that is contingent on the $105 million sale of the Coliseum stadium, but if it falls through, drastic cuts will have to be made across the city in order to make up for the loss. Downtown Oakland. Photo by Travelview.

By Magaly Muñoz

Oakland is currently in the process of selling their half of the 112-acre stadium complex, where the A’s are playing their last season before heading to Sacramento, to the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG) as part of Mayor Sheng Thao’s plan to eliminate the over $100 million shortfall for this year’s budget.

Many residents and even a few council members strongly urged the city to not depend on the sale of the stadium to balance the budget, saying that the sale was uncertain and could fall through at any moment.

Councilmembers Treva Reid and Janani Ramachandran criticized Thao and the city administrator for not allowing enough time for the council to review all budget possibilities in order to make the right decision for Oakland.

“This year’s budget process has been an insult to the people of Oakland,” Ramachandran said in a video on her Instagram. “I made the deep mistake of putting my trust in the mayor and the city administrator in their strong belief that the sale of the Coliseum would happen in time before our budget was passed.”

Noel Gallo, who also opposed using the sale as a fallback, asked over multiple meetings whether the city had a written guarantee that the developers were going to buy the site and had the money to cover the sale. Gallo received no definitive answer.

The council also received an alternative version of the budget, which would immediately cut funding to public safety but could be restored if the Coliseum money came in at a later date. Layoffs were not included in either option.

In order to avoid major cuts and possible layoffs, $63 million from the sale would need to come in by September 1.

Should the funds not come in, sworn police positions would drop from 678 to 600, fire stations across the city would have to temporarily shut down, two police academies would close, and several other cuts in many departments would have to be made to make up for the lost money.

Vice President of the Oakland Police Officers Association, Tim Dolan, said in a statement that the passing of this budget with the sale contingency puts the city and its residents in danger.

“These cuts would impact our response for availability to render service calls, directly impairing our ability to protect and serve. With fewer officers, response times will be slower, and our capacity to meet the community’s needs will be drastically diminished,” Dolan said.

Despite the widespread concern from many across the city, Thao praised the council for passing the budget.

“The City has just adopted a budget that invests in the future of Oakland. We must remain disciplined and address our deficit responsibly while maintaining our focus on the issues that matter most to Oaklanders, public safety and clean streets. This budget achieves that goal,” Thao said in a statement.

Programs like Ceasefire, the Film Attraction Initiative, and services to youth and elderly will continue to be funded under this passed budget.

Even if the one-time sale funds come through before the September deadline, Oakland will still have a shortfall of $175 million to deal with next year. But, city staff warned the council that there is no viable way to completely close this gap without cuts to public safety.