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Agenda Item
8 24-0481 Subject: Informational Report On Mayor's Proposed FY 2024-25 Midcycle Budget
From: Finance Department
Recommendation: Receive An Informational Report On The Mayor's Proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2024-25 Midcycle Budget
On behalf of East Bay Housing Organizations, we want to express support for the People's Budget platform which is a list of priorities identified by our collaborative of community organizations. The priorities include asks on housing, community safety, arts & culture, work & economy, and responsive governments. We also want to highlight our housing priorities below:
-The disposition of Coliseum land should be in accordance with the 2014 resolution that established a General Policy to Lease, Rather Than Sell, city owned land and the 2018 public lands policy framework that outlines 100 percent of all property net sale and lease proceeds shall go to Affordable Housing Trust Fund. A portion of any sale and lease of Coliseum land which is public land should go into the affordable housing trust fund.
-Determine how much Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) is generated from Short-Term Rental Housing and appropriate 100% of those revenues to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
-Identify the portion of assessed but uncollected impact fees that represents future payments due from projects that have been issued building permits and paid their first installment, and appropriate that amount to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund for housing development and preservation.
- Ensure the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is not susceptible to any “across the board” cuts as very little of its funding comes from the General Fund.
Thank you
Hello Council Members my name is Jess Inson. I am here today with the Oakland People’s Budget Coalition and Oakland Rising. I want to express support for the people's budget platform which is a list of priorities identified by our collaborative of community organizations. The priorities include ask on housing, community safety, arts & culture, work & economy, and responsive governments. Our communities are in vital needs and services and cannot afford to be the payout for our budget deficit. I am also advocating funding for Democracy Dollars
Restore Democracy Dollars Startup Funding: $97,790
Add one FTE for 6 months (beginning Jan. 2025): $100,392
Restore the Limited Public Financing Program: $214,089
With your approval, we can empower everyday Oakland Voters to actively participate in the political process. Democracy Dollars passed with strong support, 74%, from voters who want a fair, transparent, and accountable government. We need to see this implementation.
We urge the council to make the right decision and support in securing mid-cycle funding to implement Democracy Dollars by 2026.
We also urge you to restore 1,000,000M in Oakland's corridor safety and community ambassador program; this reduction eliminates City funding directed towards the Citywide corridor safety and ambassador program, which is a council-directed intervention to address public safety concerns in neighborhood commercial districts.
Thank you.
My name is Gail Wallace and I am commenting as President of the League of Women Voters of Oakland. I write to encourage full funding of what is necessary to guarantee that the software has been development and preparation has been completed to launch Democracy Dollars in early 2026. First, that means restoring the full $525,000 for the software development contract. That would permit the system to be built to include from the start the online capacity for redeeming vouchers which is a more efficient way of proceeding. Secondly, that means adding an Ethics Analyst II for six months at an approximate cost of $100, 392 to do the preparatory work for assigning and delivering vouchers and providing tools to educate Oaklanders about the new system. Together these allocations keep the program on track for launch in 2026 which would not otherwise be the case.
Finally, we ask for restoration of the interim limited public financing for candidates which was in the June 2023 budget. We ask you to honor the mandate of 74% in favor of this ground breaking program to change the dynamics of campaign finance in Oakland and make us a leader in fostering civic engagement around elections.
Hello Council Members, my name is Stevie Gaona, I am a district 5 resident, and I am here today with Oakland People's Budget Coalition and Oakland Rising. I am here today to express support for the people's budget platform- a list of priorities identified by our collaborative of community organizations that includes asks on housing, community safety, arts & culture, work & economy, and responsive governments. Our communities most vital needs and services cannot afford to be the payot for our budget deficit. I am here also to ask specifically about Democracy Dollars funding; Restore Democracy Dollars Startup Funding: $97,790
Add one FTE for 6 months (beginning Jan. (2025): $100,392
Restore the Limited Public Financing Program: $214,089
With your approval, we can empower everyday Oaklanders to actively participate in the political process. Democracy Dollars passed with strong support, 74%, from Oakland voters who want a fair, transparent, and accountable government and we cannot afford to see this program funding cut. Again, we urge your support in securing mid-cycle funding to implement Democracy Dollars by 2026.
Hello Council Members, my name is Cynthia Morfin, I am a District 4 Oakland resident, and I am here today with the Oakland People’s Budget Coalition and Oakland Rising. I am here today to express support for the people's budget platform- a list of priorities identified by our collaborative of community organizations that includes asks on housing, community safety, arts & culture, work & economy, and responsive governments. Our communities most vital needs and services cannot afford to be the payout for our budget deficit. I am here also to ask specifically about Democracy Dollars funding
Restore Democracy Dollars Startup Funding: $97,790
Add one FTE for 6 months (beginning Jan. 2025): $100,392
Restore the Limited Public Financing Program: $214,089
With your approval, we can empower everyday Oaklanders to actively participate in the political process. Democracy Dollars passed with strong support, 74%, from Oakland voters who want a fair, transparent, and accountable government and we cannot afford to see this program funding cut.
Again, we urge your support in securing mid-cycle funding to implement Democracy Dollars by 2026.
We also urge you to restore 1,000,000M in Oakland's corridor safety and community ambassador program; this reduction eliminates City funding directed towards the Citywide corridor safety and ambassador program, which is a council directed intervention to address public safety concerns in neighborhood commercial districts.
Thank you.
My name is Zoe Parsigian, and I am an Oakland District 1 resident. I love living in Oakland in large part because of the vibrant small businesses that bring joy, food, art, and community to our city. I am asking you, on behalf of the REAL People’s Organizing Collective, please do not defund support for small businesses, co-ops and artists in Oakland.
We are asking city council to consider the following amendments for the 2024-25 midcycle budget:
1. Restore $1M funding for community and grassroots-led safety ambassadors in areas that are not already represented by BIDs or associations
2. Restore $227K funding for the Lake Merritt vending program and prioritize These vendors who disproportionately come from historically marginalized communities and largely consist of Latinx and African American entrepreneurs.
3. Restore $800K funding for special events fee subsidy for community events to support vendors from under-resourced areas in the City.
My name is Rani Langer-Croager, I am a District 1 resident and District 3 business owner as Founder & Co-CEO of Uptima Entrepreneur Cooperative. On behalf of the REAL People’s Organizing Collective, please do not defund support for small businesses, co-ops and artists in Oakland. We are asking city council to consider the following amendments for the 2024-25 midcycle budget:
1. Restore $1M funding for community and grassroots-led safety ambassadors in areas that are not already represented by BIDs or associations
2. Restore $227K funding for the Lake Merritt vending program and prioritize These vendors who disproportionately come from historically marginalized communities and largely consist of Latinx and African American entrepreneurs.
3. Restore $800K funding for special events fee subsidy for community events to support vendors from under-resourced areas in the City.
Thank you for your consideration.
My name is Tash Nguyen, I am a D6 resident, Executive Director of Restore Oakland and Board Chair of the REAL Peoples Fund for BIPOC small businesses. On behalf of the 300 storefronts and small businesses in our network, please do not defund support for small businesses, co-ops and artists in Oakland.
Our small businesses are an anchor our neighborhoods that create the conditions for community safety--gutting funds to community ambassadors is antithetical to the town's priorities. We urge you to reject any amendments that pump funds into OPD’s bloated budget to make up for this cut. When you support BIPOC small business needs, our economic activity will generate much needed revenue for this city. We are asking city council to consider the following:
- Restore $1M funding for community and grassroots-led safety ambassadors in areas that are not already represented by BIDs or associations
- Restore $227K funding for the Lake Merritt vending program and prioritize These vendors who disproportionately come from historically marginalized communities and largely consist of Latinx and African American entrepreneurs.
- Restore $800K funding for special events fee subsidy for community events to support vendors from under-resourced areas in the City.
On behalf of East Bay Housing Organizations, we want to express support for the People's Budget platform which is a list of priorities identified by our collaborative of community organizations. The priorities include asks on housing, community safety, arts & culture, work & economy, and responsive governments. We also want to highlight our housing priorities below:
-The disposition of Coliseum land should be in accordance with the 2014 resolution that established a General Policy to Lease, Rather Than Sell, city owned land and the 2018 public lands policy framework that outlines 100 percent of all property net sale and lease proceeds shall go to Affordable Housing Trust Fund. A portion of any sale and lease of Coliseum land which is public land should go into the affordable housing trust fund.
-Determine how much Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) is generated from Short-Term Rental Housing and appropriate 100% of those revenues to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
-Identify the portion of assessed but uncollected impact fees that represents future payments due from projects that have been issued building permits and paid their first installment, and appropriate that amount to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund for housing development and preservation.
- Ensure the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is not susceptible to any “across the board” cuts as very little of its funding comes from the General Fund.
Thank you
Hello Council Members my name is Jess Inson. I am here today with the Oakland People’s Budget Coalition and Oakland Rising. I want to express support for the people's budget platform which is a list of priorities identified by our collaborative of community organizations. The priorities include ask on housing, community safety, arts & culture, work & economy, and responsive governments. Our communities are in vital needs and services and cannot afford to be the payout for our budget deficit. I am also advocating funding for Democracy Dollars
Restore Democracy Dollars Startup Funding: $97,790
Add one FTE for 6 months (beginning Jan. 2025): $100,392
Restore the Limited Public Financing Program: $214,089
With your approval, we can empower everyday Oakland Voters to actively participate in the political process. Democracy Dollars passed with strong support, 74%, from voters who want a fair, transparent, and accountable government. We need to see this implementation.
We urge the council to make the right decision and support in securing mid-cycle funding to implement Democracy Dollars by 2026.
We also urge you to restore 1,000,000M in Oakland's corridor safety and community ambassador program; this reduction eliminates City funding directed towards the Citywide corridor safety and ambassador program, which is a council-directed intervention to address public safety concerns in neighborhood commercial districts.
Thank you.
My name is Gail Wallace and I am commenting as President of the League of Women Voters of Oakland. I write to encourage full funding of what is necessary to guarantee that the software has been development and preparation has been completed to launch Democracy Dollars in early 2026. First, that means restoring the full $525,000 for the software development contract. That would permit the system to be built to include from the start the online capacity for redeeming vouchers which is a more efficient way of proceeding. Secondly, that means adding an Ethics Analyst II for six months at an approximate cost of $100, 392 to do the preparatory work for assigning and delivering vouchers and providing tools to educate Oaklanders about the new system. Together these allocations keep the program on track for launch in 2026 which would not otherwise be the case.
Finally, we ask for restoration of the interim limited public financing for candidates which was in the June 2023 budget. We ask you to honor the mandate of 74% in favor of this ground breaking program to change the dynamics of campaign finance in Oakland and make us a leader in fostering civic engagement around elections.
Hello Council Members, my name is Stevie Gaona, I am a district 5 resident, and I am here today with Oakland People's Budget Coalition and Oakland Rising. I am here today to express support for the people's budget platform- a list of priorities identified by our collaborative of community organizations that includes asks on housing, community safety, arts & culture, work & economy, and responsive governments. Our communities most vital needs and services cannot afford to be the payot for our budget deficit. I am here also to ask specifically about Democracy Dollars funding; Restore Democracy Dollars Startup Funding: $97,790
Add one FTE for 6 months (beginning Jan. (2025): $100,392
Restore the Limited Public Financing Program: $214,089
With your approval, we can empower everyday Oaklanders to actively participate in the political process. Democracy Dollars passed with strong support, 74%, from Oakland voters who want a fair, transparent, and accountable government and we cannot afford to see this program funding cut. Again, we urge your support in securing mid-cycle funding to implement Democracy Dollars by 2026.
Hello Council Members, my name is Cynthia Morfin, I am a District 4 Oakland resident, and I am here today with the Oakland People’s Budget Coalition and Oakland Rising. I am here today to express support for the people's budget platform- a list of priorities identified by our collaborative of community organizations that includes asks on housing, community safety, arts & culture, work & economy, and responsive governments. Our communities most vital needs and services cannot afford to be the payout for our budget deficit. I am here also to ask specifically about Democracy Dollars funding
Restore Democracy Dollars Startup Funding: $97,790
Add one FTE for 6 months (beginning Jan. 2025): $100,392
Restore the Limited Public Financing Program: $214,089
With your approval, we can empower everyday Oaklanders to actively participate in the political process. Democracy Dollars passed with strong support, 74%, from Oakland voters who want a fair, transparent, and accountable government and we cannot afford to see this program funding cut.
Again, we urge your support in securing mid-cycle funding to implement Democracy Dollars by 2026.
We also urge you to restore 1,000,000M in Oakland's corridor safety and community ambassador program; this reduction eliminates City funding directed towards the Citywide corridor safety and ambassador program, which is a council directed intervention to address public safety concerns in neighborhood commercial districts.
Thank you.
My name is Zoe Parsigian, and I am an Oakland District 1 resident. I love living in Oakland in large part because of the vibrant small businesses that bring joy, food, art, and community to our city. I am asking you, on behalf of the REAL People’s Organizing Collective, please do not defund support for small businesses, co-ops and artists in Oakland.
We are asking city council to consider the following amendments for the 2024-25 midcycle budget:
1. Restore $1M funding for community and grassroots-led safety ambassadors in areas that are not already represented by BIDs or associations
2. Restore $227K funding for the Lake Merritt vending program and prioritize These vendors who disproportionately come from historically marginalized communities and largely consist of Latinx and African American entrepreneurs.
3. Restore $800K funding for special events fee subsidy for community events to support vendors from under-resourced areas in the City.
Thank you for your consideration.
Zoe
My name is Rani Langer-Croager, I am a District 1 resident and District 3 business owner as Founder & Co-CEO of Uptima Entrepreneur Cooperative. On behalf of the REAL People’s Organizing Collective, please do not defund support for small businesses, co-ops and artists in Oakland. We are asking city council to consider the following amendments for the 2024-25 midcycle budget:
1. Restore $1M funding for community and grassroots-led safety ambassadors in areas that are not already represented by BIDs or associations
2. Restore $227K funding for the Lake Merritt vending program and prioritize These vendors who disproportionately come from historically marginalized communities and largely consist of Latinx and African American entrepreneurs.
3. Restore $800K funding for special events fee subsidy for community events to support vendors from under-resourced areas in the City.
Thank you for your consideration.
My name is Tash Nguyen, I am a D6 resident, Executive Director of Restore Oakland and Board Chair of the REAL Peoples Fund for BIPOC small businesses. On behalf of the 300 storefronts and small businesses in our network, please do not defund support for small businesses, co-ops and artists in Oakland.
Our small businesses are an anchor our neighborhoods that create the conditions for community safety--gutting funds to community ambassadors is antithetical to the town's priorities. We urge you to reject any amendments that pump funds into OPD’s bloated budget to make up for this cut. When you support BIPOC small business needs, our economic activity will generate much needed revenue for this city. We are asking city council to consider the following:
- Restore $1M funding for community and grassroots-led safety ambassadors in areas that are not already represented by BIDs or associations
- Restore $227K funding for the Lake Merritt vending program and prioritize These vendors who disproportionately come from historically marginalized communities and largely consist of Latinx and African American entrepreneurs.
- Restore $800K funding for special events fee subsidy for community events to support vendors from under-resourced areas in the City.