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Agenda Item
8 24-0481 Subject: Reports Regarding The City Of Oakland's FY 2024-2025 Mid Cycle Budget
From: Finance Department
Recommendation: Receive An Informational Report (A) 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 (B) Council President's Proposed Budget Amendments From: Council President Fortunato Bas Recommendation: Approve A Report And Recommendation Of The Council President's Proposed Budget Amendments To The Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Proposed Budget For The City Of Oakland
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Look at alternatives to the extremely costly, questionably effective and highly invasive OPD helicopters. Pursue alternatives and ground the air and noise polluters. See April 20, 2023, agenda report: Cost of Purchasing a Fixed Wing Aircraft. I'm not advocating for another aircraft but highlighting the costs associated. Research drone technologies other cities use in place of police helicopters. Thank you. Al Lujan, Military Veteran
The Unity Council is writing in strong support for reinstating the East Oakland Community Safety Ambassador funding & strategy in the Fruitvale, Hegenberger, Dimond, and Laurel districts. The Community Safety Ambassadors program is a community-driven solution and should be a top priority. We cannot afford to cut violence de-escalation strategies at this critical time.
Last year, a safety ambassador pilot program in Fruitvale:
- served over 50,000 residents and 15,000 households who are part of the Fruitvale and the International Boulevard primary trade area, which is also home to many young families with children.
- Over 8,000 daily passengers commuting at the Fruitvale Bart Station & over 300 businesses and community-based organizations
- The Ambassadors provided support to businesses in situations involving harassment or refusal to vacate premises.
- They equipped business with informational cards for direct communication.
- on International Boulevard, the area was safe and clean from 12:00pm to 8:00pm.
- The ambassadors escorted individuals walking to their cars at night.
- Instances of crime occurred when ambassadors were not present for patrol duties, which speaks volumes to how the presence of ambassadors helps deter crime, because more people on the street, often means more bystanders who can witness and report crimes when they occur.
With the proposed reinstatement, the proposal is to have ambassadors patrolling the streets 24/7.
Council members. As a faith leader and long time believer in Ceasefire I urge you to support adding 1 FTE Program Analyst 1, 2.0 FTE Case Mangers 1.0 FTE Violence Prevention Services Supervisor and 4.0 FTE Case Managers. The addition of these positions will significantly support the implementation of the Ceasefire Lifeline Strategy, a proven approach to reducing violence that, when worked, works very well.
Pastor Jim Hopkins
Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church
I’m a member of the Oakland People’s Budget Coalition, an alliance of community-based organizations, labor unions and faith groups representing racially and economically diverse communities across Oakland. We believe that public resources must be stewarded responsibly, and this includes Public Land. If the sale of the Coliseum, public land, is going to happen, the City must fund budget priorities that are representative of the Oakland’s peoples' current needs for housing security, community safety, and more.
Our specific demands are: providing Centro with $1 million for anti-displacement work, establishing a replenishable fund to immediately provide relocation assistance to tenants, cut the ShotSpotter contract and save $2 million per year, violence prevention grants/contracts, civilianizing internal affairs out of OPD, the City should unfreeze revenue-generating positions, our budget should allocate at least $197,000 to Democracy Dollars, and fix the finance department’s mistake of failing to collect $34 million in business taxes since 2021.
The members of the board of Make Oakland Better Now! are disappointed that the Mayor and Administration have decided to lessen the budget deficit by using one-time revenues rather than dealing with the structural deficit that the City has been facing for a long time. But we are very encouraged by the statements that the City Administrator and many of the City Council Members have made supporting a top-to-bottom analysis of where savings can be made, across departments, by reorganizing the City government to be leaner and more efficient. We recommend a Blue Ribbon Commission, made up of Oakland leaders, to look into the structure and work of the City and recommend structural changes. To reemphasize: structural change is not doing things like random hiring freezes. Structural change is making hard decisions: determining which functions can be no longer performed and how to reduce the direct costs of providing necessary services.
Make Oakland Better Now! also endorses the SPUR recommendation that the Oakland City Council place on the ballot a charter amendment to create the office of the Independent Controller who would be responsible for managing the public’s money. We recognize that this is a longer discussion, but we do believe that if we had an Independent Controller in place this deficit could have been better planned for.
I am writing to you on behalf of the Asian Law Caucus regarding the crucial need to allocate resources for the effective implementation of the Democracy Dollars program. We are asking you to honor the Public Ethics Commission's request, and therefore we ask that you restore funding for startup costs and provide for the hiring of an Ethics Analyst II at 0.5 FTE.
Prioritizing these initiatives is vital to upholding our city's reputation as a trailblazer in campaign finance reform and safeguarding the integrity of our democratic process. A failure to properly implement the program could expose Oakland to potential legal challenges and undermine the progress we have made thus far. Similar voter engagement initiatives in cities like Seattle have demonstrated a remarkable increase in voter turnout, particularly among historically disenfranchised communities.
The implications of this decision extend far beyond our city limits, influencing the discourse on policymaking nationwide. Adequate staffing is a prerequisite for the program's success, and the current level is insufficient to meet the demands of this endeavor. By funding the requested positions, we ensure the minimum staffing necessary for viability.
We urge you to uphold our shared commitment to democratic values by allocating the necessary resources for Democracy Dollars. Your consideration of this matter is deeply appreciated.
I write on behalf of the ACLU of Northern California regarding the urgent need to adequately resource the implementation of the Democracy Dollars program. Specifically, we request that you restore funding for startup costs and allocate resources to hire an Ethics Analyst II position at 0.5 FTE, per the Public Ethics Commission's request.
Funding these initiatives is imperative to upholding our commitment to democratic principles and engaging historically disenfranchised communities. Similar programs in cities like Seattle have significantly increased voter participation among marginalized groups.
By not funding these programs at this critical moment, we will not only be rejecting the will of 74% of Oakland voters, but we will also potentially waste the momentum, resources, and philanthropic support of this program.
Failure to properly implement Democracy Dollars could expose the city to legal challenges and compromise Oakland's standing as a leader in campaign finance reform. This decision also has implications that extend beyond our city, with influence on the national and statewide landscape of policy around campaign finance reform.
We urge you to prioritize funding for Democracy Dollars to protect our democratic values locally and set a positive precedent nationally. Thank you for your consideration of this crucial matter.
Sincerely,
Tammy Kreznar
Senior Organizer, ACLU of Northern California
I urge the City Council to continue to allocate the Lake Merritt parking funds to services for the park. These services, including OPD, OakDOT, Municipal Code enforcement, park stewards, increased public works for trash pick up & sanitation measures are essential to keeping the Lake a healthy & safe place for everyone. Given that City staff are often threatened doing their jobs at the Lake, having OPD there is vital to support their efforts and keep City staff safe. If we don't have these measures in place, the lake will continue to be degraded environmentally, & visitors & residents will suffer from the consequences of illegal events, the detrimental health impacts from amplified sound, parking & reckless driving issues that lead to emergency vehicles not getting through & neighbors unable to go or return home, & general safety so families want to be at the lake.
I also want to voice my opposition to the cuts to OPD and the Fire Department. Right now, it is very challenging to get OPD resources. Oakland is under-resourced for public safety. I don't understand the benefits of MACRO. People don't know about that program, no one knows the phone number, & I have seen no data evidence showing it is working. Why are we putting money towards a program that was good in theory but has not been shown to work?
Also please keep Measure Q funds allocated to parks and managing the unhoused. That is what we voted for and what I pay those taxes for.
Hello Council, My name is Cynthia Morfin. I am with the Oakland People's Budget Coalition, BayPEC, and Oakland Rising.
We are calling on the council to restore funding for startup costs for the Democracy Dollars program and fund .5 FTE for an Ethics Analyst II position to start January 1st 2025, as requested by the PEC.
This is taking one step forward to avoid taking ten steps back. Without this funding we would lose the momentum, we will have wasted the funding, and we have the potential to lose the philanthropic funding. The non-negotiables are now, there is no wiggle room, the wiggle room comes in next budget cycle to figure out what the scale and size of the program will be.
Ensuring Dem Dollars gets implemented is not only essential to upholding the will of the voters but is also essential in engaging voters who have been left out of this system. In Seattle people who had never voted before were 11 times more likely to come out to vote with this program in place. We urge your support in this funding. Thank you
We cannot say we are a city that values equity and then cut services to low income seniors, many of who are people of color and do not speak English as a first language. Eliminating funding to Vietnamese Community Center, Family Bridges and Vietnamese Community Development would harm seniors across Oakland. These services are already running in the red because Oakland has not executed contracts in a timely manner so they cannot bill and be paid for LAST year's services. We need to do better! I do not support eliminating these community grants.
Dianna Garrett, former commissioner -Mayor Commission on Aging and East Oakland resident.
Do not eliminate the monthly Bulky Block Party (BBP) large item drop off disposal events. There is no justification nor data provided that supports the elimination of the BBP. Please provide the number of people that have used the BBP each month since the program started and the cost to run the program. What feedback has been obtained from Oakland residents regarding the BBP. The BBP has been used by people that I know on a regular basis. Oakland will see an increase in illegal dumping if the BBP is eliminated.
Do not transfer the Neighborhood Services Division (NSD) from City Administrator's Office to OPW. This makes no sense and will dilute the effectiveness of the NSD. Neighborhood Services Coordinator's (NSC) duties are not only related to illegal dumping, abandoned autos and maintenance of public spaces. NSCs are critical to community policing, play a vital role in engaging community and building connections between the City and Neighborhood Councils. Somehow there is no longer an understanding of the value of community policing and City Council Resolution 79235, the City of Oakland's Community Policing Policy. Please leave NSD in the City Administrator Office and put someone in charge that cares about neighborhoods and community policing.
Do not freeze the 4 NSC positions that were recently posted. Our neighborhoods are suffering because of the shortage of NSCs, some NCs are no longer meeting, some NCs have 10 or less attendees attending the meetings.
Why are you considering a freeze of this crucial position for the Environmental Enforcement Officer Unit that addresses illegal dumping in Oakland? (The 24-25 Public Works Budget is $191,126,158, and the proposed Midcycle budget is $206,680,495.) This budget increase for the Public Works Department is more than enough to cover the salary for 1.0 FTE Vacant EEO Position.
Opposed to Measure Q funding for Parks going to administration, transfers of positions, transfers of funding into Q and contracts not in accordance with Measure Q.
Beneath the canopy of the ancient oak tree, the forest floor was a mosaic of shadows and sunlight. The leaves rustled gently in the breeze, whispering secrets of the woods to anyone who cared to listen. A narrow path, barely visible, wound its way through the underbrush, leading to a hidden glade where wildflowers bloomed in a riot of colors. The air was filled with the scent of pine and damp earth, mingling with the sweet fragrance of honeysuckle. Birds flitted from branch to branch, their songs creating a serene symphony that harmonized with the distant babbling of a brook. This secluded spot, untouched by time, seemed to exist in a world of its own, a sanctuary for those seeking peace and solace.<a href="https://allinstagrambios.com/instagram-bio-for-girls/">Instagram Bio For Girls</a>
Look at alternatives to the extremely costly, questionably effective and highly invasive OPD helicopters. Pursue alternatives and ground the air and noise polluters. See April 20, 2023, agenda report: Cost of Purchasing a Fixed Wing Aircraft. I'm not advocating for another aircraft but highlighting the costs associated. Research drone technologies other cities use in place of police helicopters. Thank you. Al Lujan, Military Veteran
The Unity Council is writing in strong support for reinstating the East Oakland Community Safety Ambassador funding & strategy in the Fruitvale, Hegenberger, Dimond, and Laurel districts. The Community Safety Ambassadors program is a community-driven solution and should be a top priority. We cannot afford to cut violence de-escalation strategies at this critical time.
Last year, a safety ambassador pilot program in Fruitvale:
- served over 50,000 residents and 15,000 households who are part of the Fruitvale and the International Boulevard primary trade area, which is also home to many young families with children.
- Over 8,000 daily passengers commuting at the Fruitvale Bart Station & over 300 businesses and community-based organizations
- The Ambassadors provided support to businesses in situations involving harassment or refusal to vacate premises.
- They equipped business with informational cards for direct communication.
- on International Boulevard, the area was safe and clean from 12:00pm to 8:00pm.
- The ambassadors escorted individuals walking to their cars at night.
- Instances of crime occurred when ambassadors were not present for patrol duties, which speaks volumes to how the presence of ambassadors helps deter crime, because more people on the street, often means more bystanders who can witness and report crimes when they occur.
With the proposed reinstatement, the proposal is to have ambassadors patrolling the streets 24/7.
Council members. As a faith leader and long time believer in Ceasefire I urge you to support adding 1 FTE Program Analyst 1, 2.0 FTE Case Mangers 1.0 FTE Violence Prevention Services Supervisor and 4.0 FTE Case Managers. The addition of these positions will significantly support the implementation of the Ceasefire Lifeline Strategy, a proven approach to reducing violence that, when worked, works very well.
Pastor Jim Hopkins
Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church
I’m a member of the Oakland People’s Budget Coalition, an alliance of community-based organizations, labor unions and faith groups representing racially and economically diverse communities across Oakland. We believe that public resources must be stewarded responsibly, and this includes Public Land. If the sale of the Coliseum, public land, is going to happen, the City must fund budget priorities that are representative of the Oakland’s peoples' current needs for housing security, community safety, and more.
Our specific demands are: providing Centro with $1 million for anti-displacement work, establishing a replenishable fund to immediately provide relocation assistance to tenants, cut the ShotSpotter contract and save $2 million per year, violence prevention grants/contracts, civilianizing internal affairs out of OPD, the City should unfreeze revenue-generating positions, our budget should allocate at least $197,000 to Democracy Dollars, and fix the finance department’s mistake of failing to collect $34 million in business taxes since 2021.
The members of the board of Make Oakland Better Now! are disappointed that the Mayor and Administration have decided to lessen the budget deficit by using one-time revenues rather than dealing with the structural deficit that the City has been facing for a long time. But we are very encouraged by the statements that the City Administrator and many of the City Council Members have made supporting a top-to-bottom analysis of where savings can be made, across departments, by reorganizing the City government to be leaner and more efficient. We recommend a Blue Ribbon Commission, made up of Oakland leaders, to look into the structure and work of the City and recommend structural changes. To reemphasize: structural change is not doing things like random hiring freezes. Structural change is making hard decisions: determining which functions can be no longer performed and how to reduce the direct costs of providing necessary services.
Make Oakland Better Now! also endorses the SPUR recommendation that the Oakland City Council place on the ballot a charter amendment to create the office of the Independent Controller who would be responsible for managing the public’s money. We recognize that this is a longer discussion, but we do believe that if we had an Independent Controller in place this deficit could have been better planned for.
Dear City Council Members,
I am writing to you on behalf of the Asian Law Caucus regarding the crucial need to allocate resources for the effective implementation of the Democracy Dollars program. We are asking you to honor the Public Ethics Commission's request, and therefore we ask that you restore funding for startup costs and provide for the hiring of an Ethics Analyst II at 0.5 FTE.
Prioritizing these initiatives is vital to upholding our city's reputation as a trailblazer in campaign finance reform and safeguarding the integrity of our democratic process. A failure to properly implement the program could expose Oakland to potential legal challenges and undermine the progress we have made thus far. Similar voter engagement initiatives in cities like Seattle have demonstrated a remarkable increase in voter turnout, particularly among historically disenfranchised communities.
The implications of this decision extend far beyond our city limits, influencing the discourse on policymaking nationwide. Adequate staffing is a prerequisite for the program's success, and the current level is insufficient to meet the demands of this endeavor. By funding the requested positions, we ensure the minimum staffing necessary for viability.
We urge you to uphold our shared commitment to democratic values by allocating the necessary resources for Democracy Dollars. Your consideration of this matter is deeply appreciated.
Sincerely,
Sietse Goffard
Asian Law Caucus
Dear City Council Members,
I write on behalf of the ACLU of Northern California regarding the urgent need to adequately resource the implementation of the Democracy Dollars program. Specifically, we request that you restore funding for startup costs and allocate resources to hire an Ethics Analyst II position at 0.5 FTE, per the Public Ethics Commission's request.
Funding these initiatives is imperative to upholding our commitment to democratic principles and engaging historically disenfranchised communities. Similar programs in cities like Seattle have significantly increased voter participation among marginalized groups.
By not funding these programs at this critical moment, we will not only be rejecting the will of 74% of Oakland voters, but we will also potentially waste the momentum, resources, and philanthropic support of this program.
Failure to properly implement Democracy Dollars could expose the city to legal challenges and compromise Oakland's standing as a leader in campaign finance reform. This decision also has implications that extend beyond our city, with influence on the national and statewide landscape of policy around campaign finance reform.
We urge you to prioritize funding for Democracy Dollars to protect our democratic values locally and set a positive precedent nationally. Thank you for your consideration of this crucial matter.
Sincerely,
Tammy Kreznar
Senior Organizer, ACLU of Northern California
I urge the City Council to continue to allocate the Lake Merritt parking funds to services for the park. These services, including OPD, OakDOT, Municipal Code enforcement, park stewards, increased public works for trash pick up & sanitation measures are essential to keeping the Lake a healthy & safe place for everyone. Given that City staff are often threatened doing their jobs at the Lake, having OPD there is vital to support their efforts and keep City staff safe. If we don't have these measures in place, the lake will continue to be degraded environmentally, & visitors & residents will suffer from the consequences of illegal events, the detrimental health impacts from amplified sound, parking & reckless driving issues that lead to emergency vehicles not getting through & neighbors unable to go or return home, & general safety so families want to be at the lake.
I also want to voice my opposition to the cuts to OPD and the Fire Department. Right now, it is very challenging to get OPD resources. Oakland is under-resourced for public safety. I don't understand the benefits of MACRO. People don't know about that program, no one knows the phone number, & I have seen no data evidence showing it is working. Why are we putting money towards a program that was good in theory but has not been shown to work?
Also please keep Measure Q funds allocated to parks and managing the unhoused. That is what we voted for and what I pay those taxes for.
Hello Council, My name is Cynthia Morfin. I am with the Oakland People's Budget Coalition, BayPEC, and Oakland Rising.
We are calling on the council to restore funding for startup costs for the Democracy Dollars program and fund .5 FTE for an Ethics Analyst II position to start January 1st 2025, as requested by the PEC.
This is taking one step forward to avoid taking ten steps back. Without this funding we would lose the momentum, we will have wasted the funding, and we have the potential to lose the philanthropic funding. The non-negotiables are now, there is no wiggle room, the wiggle room comes in next budget cycle to figure out what the scale and size of the program will be.
Ensuring Dem Dollars gets implemented is not only essential to upholding the will of the voters but is also essential in engaging voters who have been left out of this system. In Seattle people who had never voted before were 11 times more likely to come out to vote with this program in place. We urge your support in this funding. Thank you
We cannot say we are a city that values equity and then cut services to low income seniors, many of who are people of color and do not speak English as a first language. Eliminating funding to Vietnamese Community Center, Family Bridges and Vietnamese Community Development would harm seniors across Oakland. These services are already running in the red because Oakland has not executed contracts in a timely manner so they cannot bill and be paid for LAST year's services. We need to do better! I do not support eliminating these community grants.
Dianna Garrett, former commissioner -Mayor Commission on Aging and East Oakland resident.
Do not eliminate the monthly Bulky Block Party (BBP) large item drop off disposal events. There is no justification nor data provided that supports the elimination of the BBP. Please provide the number of people that have used the BBP each month since the program started and the cost to run the program. What feedback has been obtained from Oakland residents regarding the BBP. The BBP has been used by people that I know on a regular basis. Oakland will see an increase in illegal dumping if the BBP is eliminated.
Do not transfer the Neighborhood Services Division (NSD) from City Administrator's Office to OPW. This makes no sense and will dilute the effectiveness of the NSD. Neighborhood Services Coordinator's (NSC) duties are not only related to illegal dumping, abandoned autos and maintenance of public spaces. NSCs are critical to community policing, play a vital role in engaging community and building connections between the City and Neighborhood Councils. Somehow there is no longer an understanding of the value of community policing and City Council Resolution 79235, the City of Oakland's Community Policing Policy. Please leave NSD in the City Administrator Office and put someone in charge that cares about neighborhoods and community policing.
Do not freeze the 4 NSC positions that were recently posted. Our neighborhoods are suffering because of the shortage of NSCs, some NCs are no longer meeting, some NCs have 10 or less attendees attending the meetings.
Opposed to Freeze of 1.0 FTE Vacant EEO Position.
Why are you considering a freeze of this crucial position for the Environmental Enforcement Officer Unit that addresses illegal dumping in Oakland? (The 24-25 Public Works Budget is $191,126,158, and the proposed Midcycle budget is $206,680,495.) This budget increase for the Public Works Department is more than enough to cover the salary for 1.0 FTE Vacant EEO Position.
Opposed to Measure Q funding for Parks going to administration, transfers of positions, transfers of funding into Q and contracts not in accordance with Measure Q.
Beneath the canopy of the ancient oak tree, the forest floor was a mosaic of shadows and sunlight. The leaves rustled gently in the breeze, whispering secrets of the woods to anyone who cared to listen. A narrow path, barely visible, wound its way through the underbrush, leading to a hidden glade where wildflowers bloomed in a riot of colors. The air was filled with the scent of pine and damp earth, mingling with the sweet fragrance of honeysuckle. Birds flitted from branch to branch, their songs creating a serene symphony that harmonized with the distant babbling of a brook. This secluded spot, untouched by time, seemed to exist in a world of its own, a sanctuary for those seeking peace and solace.<a href="https://allinstagrambios.com/instagram-bio-for-girls/">Instagram Bio For Girls</a>