16 20-0501 Subject: Fiscal Year 2020-2021 Budget Amendments
From: Council President Kaplan And Councilmember Bas
Recommendation: Adopt A Resolution Amending The City Of Oakland's Fiscal Year 2020-21 Budget
I am appalled at this reprehensible attempt by some council members to hijack the momentum of the tragic event of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. This is no different than the opportunists who looted black small business for their own gain. This efforts lacks thought.
OPD now only provides basic response and services. Adequate responses to Homicide, robberies, assaults, domestic violence...will suffer.
Police response to non-violent situations has proven to add violence to these situations, and results in irreparable trauma, and unnecessary loss of lives. For example the tear gas incidents, or response to homelessness. Please act now in reallocating funding and responsibilities away from the OPD when it comes to non-violent situations. Demilitarize the OPD, remove police from schools, invest in community, and implement the Civilian Police Commission. We demand accountability from City Hall and an end to the inequitable persecution of People of Color and systemic disregard of peoples lives.
I am a resident of DISTRICT 5 of Council Member, Noel Gallo. I’m calling on you to vote with Council Members Kaplan and Bas on the proposal to defund the Oakland Police Department by at least $25 million. We demand that you reallocate those funds into improving safety and providing adequate social services for all Oakland residents. Black Lives Matter. Demilitarize our police. End the use of tear gas and rubber bullets, ban chokeholds and other forms of excessive force, and eliminate racial profiling by law enforcement. Protect our children. Oakland must continue to support keeping police out of public schools. Invest in Community. Going forward, Oakland must divest from police and further invest in restorative justice practices, affordable housing, public education, and frontline mental health care for our communities. Implement the Civilian Police Commission. Work with the Anti-Police Terror Project and Coalition for Police Accountability to fully implement Measure LL and to establish an independent Police Commission, ensuring improved oversight of OPD. Donate all OPOA campaign contributions. Give all donations you have received from the Oakland Police Officers Association Political Action Committee to bail funds, mutual aid organizations, and/or local nonprofits defending Black lives and pledge to not take any more money from police unions.
As a resident of District 1 I strongly support Council President Kaplan and Councilmember Bas's proposal to reallocate OPD funds to programs that actually support the community and directly address the issues that lead to systemic poverty, oppression and racism. Using these funds to support mental health programs, affordable housing, jobs initiatives, restorative justice programs, youth programs and food and healthcare services is not only a morally right position, it's common sense.
For the sake of Oakland's most vulnerable Black, Brown and financially at-risk residents who are most effected by police terror, please pass this proposal.
I'm a resident of District 2, and I strongly support Councilmember Bas' initiative here. It is clear that the budget of Oakland does not currently serve the needs of Oakland residents. Money must be moved away from the OPD and into budget items such as jobs programs, public housing, park sanitation, road maintenance, and the building out of a robust residential fiber network. All of these things are only possible if we have the political courage to stand for them and allocate funding for them.
This is a good start to reallocating precious resources away from the OPD's gross misuse and abuse of taxpayers funds, towards programs and services that will actually help people. This is actually a very conservative proposal and there is no reason not to support it.
My name is Ada Palotai and I live in district 6. I urge you to IMMEDIATELY extend Oakland's eviction moratorium until the state of emergency is lifted. Experts warn of a tsunami of evictions due to COVID-19. Like the pandemic and police violence, communities of color will bear the brunt of the crisis. Housing keeps us safe, not the police. City Council must Defund OPD by adopting Kaplan/Bas's cuts of at least an additional 11.4M and reimagine public safety. They must also extend the Eviction Moratorium until at least the end of the local state of emergency, pass the Tenant Protection Upgrades, and protect workers by passing the Right to Recall ordinance.
I'm a bay area native and a resident of District 1. I do not think our current police & public order system has been serving us well and this budget is a crucial step to move towards imaging different possibilities.
I am a District 3 and am echoing the support of another D3 resident - we demand we not only defund OPD but repurpose those funds to community-enhancing services. How do you justify the egregious amount of spend on our violent police department when we have an increasing housing crisis?? Move the funds in a meaningful way or GET OUT.
I am a resident of District 1 and I strongly support Bas and Kaplan's budget amendments to reallocate funds from OPD this year. While it's understandable that a full defunding of OPD by 50% will take some time, that doesn't mean we can't take concrete and meaningful steps in that direction right now.
I am a District 3 resident and demand we not only defund OPD, but repurpose those funds to community enhancing services. How do you justify the egregious amount of spend on our violent police department when we have an increasing housing crisis?? Move the funds in a meaningful way or GET OUT.
I am a district 2 resident and I strongly support the Bas and Kaplan's budget amendments to reallocate funds from OPD this year and the reduction of OPD's general spending by 50%. We need real solutions that address community needs without involving the police.
I am writing on behalf of the Union of Concerned Scientists, a national science organization with an office in Oakland, and specifically on behalf of numerous staff who reside in Oakland.
UCS is supportive of calls for the following actions:
• Reduce OPD’s budget by an additional $11.4 million as part of the city’s FY 2020-21 Mid Cycle Budget Adjustments;
• Create a Task Force led by the most impacted community members to plan how to cut OPD’s budget by 50% (roughly $150 million) next year;
• Eliminate unauthorized and wasteful overtime by OPD; and
• Use savings from OPD budget to invest in housing, jobs, youth programs, restorative justice, and mental health workers to keep the community safe.
UCS feels compelled to speak up on this issue because racism is an inescapable reality in our community and our nation, and one that thwarts necessary collective action on other pressing issues like climate change. Black and Brown communities face unjust burdens that include violence, disenfranchisement, economic oppression and exploitation, unequal access to resources such as health care and education, and disproportionate exposure to environmental risks. These burdens are not alleviated by police.
Over the last month there has been an outpouring of support from Oakland residents in support of shifting public resources from policing to more effective solutions to our community’s needs. We hope you will stand with the community and on the right side of history.
I am a district 1 resident and Oakland native. Policing disproportionately targets and harms black and brown men. There is lots of research that corroborates this as well as the personal experience of every man in my family. I'm ready for a better Oakland. We should pass Councilperson Bas' proposal today and defund the Oakland Police - as APTP and many citizens have been demanding for 5 years - by 50% in the next budget cycle. We should not give the police another dime. Let's be leaders instead of relics of harmful outdated policing practices.
What we've been doing hasn't worked and change is needed. Drastic change, even it appears haphazard is what these dire times call for.
Effort makes a difference. Relationships are critical. Community matters. When effort, relationships, and community are put together, different critical outcomes that actually matter on the community level happens. For instance, trybe has worked in partnership with Oakland Unite to provide Community Safety Ambassadors in the San Antonio area engaging persons and groups on the streets, liquor stores, parks, and corners with education, PPE, and support. It has not been an easy work where confrontations happen on a daily basis as people are angry and fearful. But our ambassadors engage with understanding and love, with training and an attitude of de-escalation and peace. It has been working and we can see the difference on the streets. Masks may not be worn by the majority of people, but they are more accessible, and education is happening making it easier as we make our rounds to engage weekly. As infections increase and it gets more real, our ambassadors are doing the work of literally saving lives, with many who feel a sense of hopelessness with a "why even try?" attitude.
We are ready to transition into other ambassador and peace work in the community directly engaging people on health/safety culture, having smooth safe events, and working out disputes as they arise.
I am a resident of District 1, and strongly support Council President Kaplan and Councilmember Bas's proposal to re-allocate $25 million in the OPD budget, make a commitment to develop a plan for a 50% reduction in the OPD budget for the next two-year budget cycle, and ensure that this process is one that is community-driven and led by organizations like the Anti-Police Terror Project, who's Defund OPD committee has been leading the call to defund the police and invest in our communities for the past 5 years.
Rather than make our communities safer, Oakland's investment in policing has resulted in a direct and ongoing threat to the lives and well-being of Oakland's Black and Brown residents. It's time to listen to your constituents and reallocate and invest these funds in services, programs, and resources that help rather than harm.
I am a District 4 resident and I support defunding the OPD. The money can be redirected towards mental health, affordable housing, jobs, restorative justice, youth programs, food and healthcare programs that can solve the challenges our community faces. Policing has only brought more violence. It is time we break this awful cycle.
I am a resident of District 1 and I fully support Councilmembers Bas and Kaplan's proposal to reallocate funds and commit to defunding the OPD budget by 50% on a specific timeline. Please reinvest in housing and other services for the community.
I'm a resident of District 1. I strongly support the Anti-Police Terror Project’s demand to defund the Oakland police by 50%, starting with Councilmember Bas’ proposal to defund a portion of the police budget today. Instead, these funds need to be allocated to vital public services, like housing, education, and healthcare. My fellow residents and I in East Bay DSA believe this change is fundamental. Our 1,500 members are engaged and ready for the November election.
I am appalled at this reprehensible attempt by some council members to hijack the momentum of the tragic event of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. This is no different than the opportunists who looted black small business for their own gain. This efforts lacks thought.
OPD now only provides basic response and services. Adequate responses to Homicide, robberies, assaults, domestic violence...will suffer.
Shame on you! I oppose!
Police response to non-violent situations has proven to add violence to these situations, and results in irreparable trauma, and unnecessary loss of lives. For example the tear gas incidents, or response to homelessness. Please act now in reallocating funding and responsibilities away from the OPD when it comes to non-violent situations. Demilitarize the OPD, remove police from schools, invest in community, and implement the Civilian Police Commission. We demand accountability from City Hall and an end to the inequitable persecution of People of Color and systemic disregard of peoples lives.
I am a resident of DISTRICT 5 of Council Member, Noel Gallo. I’m calling on you to vote with Council Members Kaplan and Bas on the proposal to defund the Oakland Police Department by at least $25 million. We demand that you reallocate those funds into improving safety and providing adequate social services for all Oakland residents. Black Lives Matter. Demilitarize our police. End the use of tear gas and rubber bullets, ban chokeholds and other forms of excessive force, and eliminate racial profiling by law enforcement. Protect our children. Oakland must continue to support keeping police out of public schools. Invest in Community. Going forward, Oakland must divest from police and further invest in restorative justice practices, affordable housing, public education, and frontline mental health care for our communities. Implement the Civilian Police Commission. Work with the Anti-Police Terror Project and Coalition for Police Accountability to fully implement Measure LL and to establish an independent Police Commission, ensuring improved oversight of OPD. Donate all OPOA campaign contributions. Give all donations you have received from the Oakland Police Officers Association Political Action Committee to bail funds, mutual aid organizations, and/or local nonprofits defending Black lives and pledge to not take any more money from police unions.
As a resident of District 1 I strongly support Council President Kaplan and Councilmember Bas's proposal to reallocate OPD funds to programs that actually support the community and directly address the issues that lead to systemic poverty, oppression and racism. Using these funds to support mental health programs, affordable housing, jobs initiatives, restorative justice programs, youth programs and food and healthcare services is not only a morally right position, it's common sense.
For the sake of Oakland's most vulnerable Black, Brown and financially at-risk residents who are most effected by police terror, please pass this proposal.
I'm a resident of District 2, and I strongly support Councilmember Bas' initiative here. It is clear that the budget of Oakland does not currently serve the needs of Oakland residents. Money must be moved away from the OPD and into budget items such as jobs programs, public housing, park sanitation, road maintenance, and the building out of a robust residential fiber network. All of these things are only possible if we have the political courage to stand for them and allocate funding for them.
This is a good start to reallocating precious resources away from the OPD's gross misuse and abuse of taxpayers funds, towards programs and services that will actually help people. This is actually a very conservative proposal and there is no reason not to support it.
My name is Ada Palotai and I live in district 6. I urge you to IMMEDIATELY extend Oakland's eviction moratorium until the state of emergency is lifted. Experts warn of a tsunami of evictions due to COVID-19. Like the pandemic and police violence, communities of color will bear the brunt of the crisis. Housing keeps us safe, not the police. City Council must Defund OPD by adopting Kaplan/Bas's cuts of at least an additional 11.4M and reimagine public safety. They must also extend the Eviction Moratorium until at least the end of the local state of emergency, pass the Tenant Protection Upgrades, and protect workers by passing the Right to Recall ordinance.
I'm a bay area native and a resident of District 1. I do not think our current police & public order system has been serving us well and this budget is a crucial step to move towards imaging different possibilities.
I am a District 3 and am echoing the support of another D3 resident - we demand we not only defund OPD but repurpose those funds to community-enhancing services. How do you justify the egregious amount of spend on our violent police department when we have an increasing housing crisis?? Move the funds in a meaningful way or GET OUT.
I am a resident of District 1 and I strongly support Bas and Kaplan's budget amendments to reallocate funds from OPD this year. While it's understandable that a full defunding of OPD by 50% will take some time, that doesn't mean we can't take concrete and meaningful steps in that direction right now.
I am a District 3 resident and demand we not only defund OPD, but repurpose those funds to community enhancing services. How do you justify the egregious amount of spend on our violent police department when we have an increasing housing crisis?? Move the funds in a meaningful way or GET OUT.
I am a district 2 resident and I strongly support the Bas and Kaplan's budget amendments to reallocate funds from OPD this year and the reduction of OPD's general spending by 50%. We need real solutions that address community needs without involving the police.
I am writing on behalf of the Union of Concerned Scientists, a national science organization with an office in Oakland, and specifically on behalf of numerous staff who reside in Oakland.
UCS is supportive of calls for the following actions:
• Reduce OPD’s budget by an additional $11.4 million as part of the city’s FY 2020-21 Mid Cycle Budget Adjustments;
• Create a Task Force led by the most impacted community members to plan how to cut OPD’s budget by 50% (roughly $150 million) next year;
• Eliminate unauthorized and wasteful overtime by OPD; and
• Use savings from OPD budget to invest in housing, jobs, youth programs, restorative justice, and mental health workers to keep the community safe.
UCS feels compelled to speak up on this issue because racism is an inescapable reality in our community and our nation, and one that thwarts necessary collective action on other pressing issues like climate change. Black and Brown communities face unjust burdens that include violence, disenfranchisement, economic oppression and exploitation, unequal access to resources such as health care and education, and disproportionate exposure to environmental risks. These burdens are not alleviated by police.
Over the last month there has been an outpouring of support from Oakland residents in support of shifting public resources from policing to more effective solutions to our community’s needs. We hope you will stand with the community and on the right side of history.
I am a district 1 resident and Oakland native. Policing disproportionately targets and harms black and brown men. There is lots of research that corroborates this as well as the personal experience of every man in my family. I'm ready for a better Oakland. We should pass Councilperson Bas' proposal today and defund the Oakland Police - as APTP and many citizens have been demanding for 5 years - by 50% in the next budget cycle. We should not give the police another dime. Let's be leaders instead of relics of harmful outdated policing practices.
What we've been doing hasn't worked and change is needed. Drastic change, even it appears haphazard is what these dire times call for.
Effort makes a difference. Relationships are critical. Community matters. When effort, relationships, and community are put together, different critical outcomes that actually matter on the community level happens. For instance, trybe has worked in partnership with Oakland Unite to provide Community Safety Ambassadors in the San Antonio area engaging persons and groups on the streets, liquor stores, parks, and corners with education, PPE, and support. It has not been an easy work where confrontations happen on a daily basis as people are angry and fearful. But our ambassadors engage with understanding and love, with training and an attitude of de-escalation and peace. It has been working and we can see the difference on the streets. Masks may not be worn by the majority of people, but they are more accessible, and education is happening making it easier as we make our rounds to engage weekly. As infections increase and it gets more real, our ambassadors are doing the work of literally saving lives, with many who feel a sense of hopelessness with a "why even try?" attitude.
We are ready to transition into other ambassador and peace work in the community directly engaging people on health/safety culture, having smooth safe events, and working out disputes as they arise.
I am a resident of District 1, and strongly support Council President Kaplan and Councilmember Bas's proposal to re-allocate $25 million in the OPD budget, make a commitment to develop a plan for a 50% reduction in the OPD budget for the next two-year budget cycle, and ensure that this process is one that is community-driven and led by organizations like the Anti-Police Terror Project, who's Defund OPD committee has been leading the call to defund the police and invest in our communities for the past 5 years.
Rather than make our communities safer, Oakland's investment in policing has resulted in a direct and ongoing threat to the lives and well-being of Oakland's Black and Brown residents. It's time to listen to your constituents and reallocate and invest these funds in services, programs, and resources that help rather than harm.
I am a District 4 resident and I support defunding the OPD. The money can be redirected towards mental health, affordable housing, jobs, restorative justice, youth programs, food and healthcare programs that can solve the challenges our community faces. Policing has only brought more violence. It is time we break this awful cycle.
I am a resident of District 1 and I fully support Councilmembers Bas and Kaplan's proposal to reallocate funds and commit to defunding the OPD budget by 50% on a specific timeline. Please reinvest in housing and other services for the community.
I am a resident of district 3 and support this proposal to reallocate additional funds from OPD.
I'm a resident of District 1. I strongly support the Anti-Police Terror Project’s demand to defund the Oakland police by 50%, starting with Councilmember Bas’ proposal to defund a portion of the police budget today. Instead, these funds need to be allocated to vital public services, like housing, education, and healthcare. My fellow residents and I in East Bay DSA believe this change is fundamental. Our 1,500 members are engaged and ready for the November election.