I didn't learn about this until after the fact. Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas shared that she didn't even get the budget until the meeting started. And the public had no advance notice and no way to review. Why was there such a rush? This is important. Too much of budget goes to OPD and not to essential services that would be much more appropriate for public safety like housing, mental health services, restorative justice programs, and welfare programs. There was no reason to rush into this without giving the public even a few hours to review.

I am a constituent of Council member Loren Taylor's in District 6 and I urge him to defund the Oakland police department— we need $150M cut from the OPD. Let’s invest instead in Black and Brown communities and programs that actually keep our communities safe and thriving— housing, public health, mental health services, community health workers, restorative justice programs. Your constituents in District 6 are asking you to take this seriously and respect our views.

I am a constituent of McElhaney’s district and urge her to listen to her constituents and vote to defund the OPD by AT LEAST 50% and fund housing, education, and jobs instead!

As a constituent of Councilmember Bas, I support her recent proposal to commit Oakland to the reallocation of at least $25M from the police budget for this budget cycle FY 2020-21 and develop a plan to reduce the OPD budget by 50% for the next two-year budget cycle FY 2021-23. I call on other councilmembers to stand with Councilmember Bas during this historic moment.

Every single official sitting safely at home while they zoom in to their council and board meetings to approve more of our money funding the police terrorizing and murdering black and brown people has blood on their hands and they need to go. If you water down proposals to cut a significant amount from the Oakland Police Department budget, we will make sure you are held accountable and voted out.

I am a resident of District 3. I am writing to urge the City Council to defund the Oakland Police Department and invest the money saved into affordable housing, healthcare, support for public schools, and social services for residents. Investing in social services will make Oakland safer and provide people with more opportunities to have healthy and meaningful lives. While it is only the first step toward achieving the broad social safety net we need, it is an important one. I urge you to redirect money away from OPD and into needed services.

As a resident of District 1, I call on the City do reduce OPD's budget by 50% or more, reinvesting those funds in services that keep the community truly safe through the Black New Deal. We can help Oakland recover from the Pandemic, help Oaklanders thrive, and recover from the Police violence plaguing our community and raiding our coffers, but it will take courage and it will take vision. Thank you.

I am a resident of District 4. Mayor Schaff's new proposed cuts do not go nearly far enough. We demand real change and new solutions to keep our communities safe and protected. We want the police disarmed, defunded, and disbanded. Community services are worthwhile, crucial, and healthy investments. We need to start this process immediately. Now is the time for action, not meager policy proposals.

1. DEFUND OPD by 50%
2. INVEST that $150 million in the Black New Deal and reinstating RJ programs in schools
3. STOP the use of violence against protesters
4. CANCEL CHP's contract & remove them from Oakland

I'm a member of District 2 and I demand you defund OPD by AT LEAST 50% and use the Black New Deal as a rubric for reinvestment in our community.

My name is Gabriella Mingoia and I live in district 2. I'm commenting to echo the hundreds of comments that are urging city council to divest from OPD. The cuts currently proposed are INSUFFICIENT.

The following is what Oakland wants. Listen to us:

1. DEFUND OPD by 50%
2. INVEST that $150 million in the Black New Deal
3. STOP the use of violence against protesters
4. CANCEL CHP's contract & remove them from Oakland

Thank you.

As an Oakland constituent of District 6, I continue to echo the requests of the Oakland community. We as a community spend entirely to much on our police force. As you continue to develop the city budget, I would like to see and strongly believe we need to dissolve and defund our police department and local carceral system and use the funds currently allocated toward them to prioritize community support services, particularly focusing on free and equitable:

Education
Housing Justice
Food Justice
Public Healthcare
Public Transportation
Cover the budget deficit created by the ongoing pandemic
Invest in a Black New Deal

In addition, I also ask that Oakland severs it's contract with CHP and immediately halts all current and future use of violence of any kind against protestors.

We can keep our community safe by using The People's Money to provide living wage jobs, housing for all, youth programs, health care, restorative justice, equipment for OUSD distance learning during COVID-19.

Oakland is watching this meeting. Clearly, trying to reform the department and make incremental changes have not worked. OPD takes up a ridiculous amount of the budget - defund OPD by 50% now!

I am a resident of District 6 and am writing in support of concrete proposals to defund police responses to issues in our community that should be more sensibly responded to with social supports, such as mental health services, housing, counseling, and cultural activities that connect people and give them a sense of hope and belonging instead of despair. Please also hold Cultural Affairs' budget harmless at this time when we desperately need the wisdom and creativity of cultural workers of color to help us all think differently about how we govern this city and our understanding of what equity and justice look like.

I am Linda Taylor, retired OUSD teacher/principal.
Divest funds from the Oakland Police Department to social services by pre-emptying further community violence caused by:
a police union that contractually condones police misconduct of officers cited for over-use of force and in sometimes, murder.
Fund ( in collaboration of OUSD) after-school, before-school and for school-age youth. I have witnessed car burglaries by Oakland youth committed on non-school days.
It is for these reasons that I suggest after-school programs for LOW-INCOME families be enhanced to accept more than the current levels of 140 families out of a school population of 400 students. Programs like EBAC, Higher Ground serves OUSD students should serve MORE students with increased funding divested from the Oakland Police Department.
Invest in our youth to PREEMPT the future of negative police confrontation avoiding deadly force of communities of color.

I urge the council to adopt Council member Bas's proposal which would cut OPD funding by $25million. This is merely a first step in moving toward de-funding the police in Oakland to free up public funds for community services that are desperately needed. For years we have been de-funding education, mental health services, support for the underemployed. Now is the time to reconsider our priorities as a city and lead the way to safer, secure communities through community-led initiatives.

OPD is not where it needs to be on the concerns of Oakland’s minority communities. Small incremental changes haven’t done the job. Oakland needs larger changes. Police now deal with issues far beyond immediate threats to public safety. Many "crimes" are social issues, not crimes. We need social workers, not armed police officers. What’s needed is de-escalation of conflicts, not force. Demilitarize the police - no routine arming with lethal force. That communicates a threat to the community. Police “uniforms” should also be demilitarized. Public safety officers should come from the communities they serve. Integrate public safety with other community functions. No OPD - and no OPOA. Instead, a Department of Public Health, Welfare, and Safety, providing “wraparound” services to the community. 911 calls should should not routinely go to police or fire. There should only be a small group of officers with the training and equipment to address violent situations.

I am a District 1 resident and I agree with my neighbors and community that we must FUND Oakland Schools, Affordable (free) Housing and Oakland's overburdened Parks and DEFUND ODP. In a health crisis, the ODP has routinely disregarded the health and safety of our citizens by placing them in crowded jails, compromising our breathing with tear gas, threatening violence, and inflicting violence.

It is our duty to prioritize our health. Direct the city budget to departments that prioritize the health and safety of my Black and Brown friends and family.

The revised city budget must reflect that we prioritize the health and safety of our community, not the "safety" of white supremacists.

MINOR CUTS IN OPD BUDGET ARE INSUFFICIENT. I support cutting OPD’s budget by 50%. The money from OPD’s budget reinvested in community programs are absolutely critical to address some of the root cause of crime. Take the money out of militarization and put into education and housing. We continue to fund the police at such a high rate, KNOWING their record of abuse of power. The city applauded Oakland police for their reform. THEY JUST TEAR GASSED A PEACEFUL YOUTH PROTEST I ATTENDED. REFORM IS NOT ENOUGH. I am an Oakland voter who believes we need to uplift the marginalized members of our community, not continue to oppress with blatantly steep budget accommodations for a weaponized police force and continued low prioritization of public education/community programs. People are tuned in. We are not turning a blind eye. DEFUND OPD. DO YOUR JOB TO SERVE YOUR COMMUNITY. We are seeing cities divesting from their police- OAKLAND SHOULD BE A LEADER IN THESE SHIFTS. Thank you for your time.

I am a resident of District 3 and I strongly urge the council to approve Councilmember Bas' proposed $25 million cut to OPD. That money should be allocated immediately to other city services which were lagging in their funding and abilities even before COVID-19. The people of Oakland have spoken loud and clear on where they want their money spent, and absolutely no cuts to other departments should be made until the OPD's budget is addressed.

The Council must support CM Bas's visionary proposal to reduce OPD's budget by $25M mid-cycle and engage in a year-long planning process to reduce it by 50% in the next two-year budget cycle. Oakland has the opportunity to be a national leader in the movement to defund the police and re-envision community safety. Diverting funds from OPD now by reducing overtime and freezing vacant positions and reinvesting those funds in direct community safety and transition planning is a bold move that works toward urgent community demands. CM Taylor, Reid, Gallo, and McElhaney's proposal uses strong words about "ensuring justice for all," but its proposals don't meet that need. Tinkering on the edges of OPD and creating yet another "taskforce" does not meet the community's clear and persistent call for radical change now. I urge the Council to act on the right side of history: defund OPD now and commit to further defunding in the future to invest in true community safety and the Black New Deal.