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Agenda Item
5 26-0779 Subject: FY 2026-27 Execution Of Maintenance Of Effort Waivers And Use Of One-Time Revenues To Balance The Midcycle Budget
From: Finance Department
Recommendation: Adopt A Resolution: (1) Authorizing The Use Of One-Time Revenues To Balance The Fiscal Year 2026-27 Midcycle Budget Pursuant To Section 1, Part D Of The City Of Oakland Consolidated Fiscal Policy
(2) Declaring A State Of Extreme Fiscal Necessity And The Existence Of A Severe And Unanticipated Financial Event That Has Adversely Impacted The General Purpose Fund Such That The City Is Unable To Budget At The Required Minimum Number Of 700 Sworn Police Personnel Pursuant To "The Oakland Community Violence And Emergency Response Act Of 2024" (Measure NN)
(3) Declaring A State Of Extreme Fiscal Necessity, To Provide For The Temporary Suspension Of The 'Park Maintenance' Maintenance Of Effort Requirements, Pursuant To The 2020 Oakland Parks And Recreation Preservation, Litter Reduction, And Homelessness Support Act (Measure Q)
(4) Declaring A State Of Extreme Fiscal Necessity For The Midcycle Budget, Allowing For The Minimum Budget Set-Aside For Public Campaign Financing To Be Suspended, Pursuant To The Oakland Fair Elections Act
(5) Declaring A State Of Extreme Fiscal Necessity For The Midcycle Budget, And Temporarily Suspending 1) The Requirement To Consider Advisory Board Recommendations Prior To Appropriating Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax Revenue
(6) Declaring A State Of Extreme Fiscal Necessity For The Midcycle Budget, Authorizing The Use Of Funds Deposited Into The Affordable Housing Trust Fund (Fund 1870) To Balance The Fiscal Years 2026-27 Midcycle Budget
(7) Establishing The Intention Of The City Council To Prioritize Restoration Of Services To Meet The Maintenance Of Effort Requirements
We are counting on you to include the funding allocation of $500,000 for Lake Merritt in the final budget to be approved. Please don’t siphon off Measure Q funds for other purposes.
Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission reported that approximately $22 million in Measure Q funding remains available. We ask the City Council and PRAC to establish clear projections for use of these funds, including restroom facilities and maintenance, landscaping, litter removal, and other park improvements.
Lake Merrit is literally the “heart” of Oakland- a landmark, a wildlife refuge and the iconic spot that draws tourists, residents from the entire Bay Area and of course neighbors near the lake. Support is needed for public safety, accessibility as well as clean and well maintained spaces.
Of course all of this needs even more than $500,00 but could we at least start with that amount and make Lake Merritt a priority in this budget cycle? I encourage those of you who have the ability to vote on this allocation to do so . It will mean a great deal to all of Oakland.
Item 5 (26-0779), Maintenance of Effort Waivers. I'm a North Oakland (D1) resident. I OPPOSE this resolution.
This declares "extreme fiscal necessity" to waive a stack of voter mandates at once: the Measure Q parks, recreation, and homelessness MOE; the Affordable Housing Trust Fund set-aside; the Democracy Dollars public financing minimum; and the advisory-board review for soda-tax spending. Voters approved each of these, and the city is still collecting the taxes that fund them. Declaring an emergency to avoid spending that money as promised, while continuing to take it in, breaks faith with the people who voted yes.
This is also becoming a habit. The city has leaned on repeated "fiscal necessity" declarations to bypass mandates rather than fix a structural deficit it has known about for years. Measure Q funds remain underspent even as parks struggle with maintenance, litter, and restrooms, which is a management problem, not a reason to divert the money.
Honoring these mandates is not the cause of the deficit. The largest controllable cost is OPD overtime, which has run tens of millions over budget for over a decade, topping $55M in FY2023-24. Discipline that before raiding voter-approved parks and housing funds.
I ask Council to reject the MOE waivers in 26-0779, keep Measure Q, Affordable Housing, and Democracy Dollars funded as voters directed, and close the deficit through controllable spending. Honor the voters.
I urge the Council to protect Measure Q funding and reject proposals to divert these voter-approved funds.
I and other Oakland residents voted for Measure Q to support parks, recreation, and homelessness services. I pay substantial taxes as a result of that supporting vote. Park and homeless needs have not gone away. In fact, many parks continue to struggle with inadequate restroom facilities, deferred maintenance, litter, landscaping needs, and other quality-of-life issues. At the same time, significant questions remain about how Measure Q funds are being allocated and what outcomes they are achieving.
There has been a grand jury investigation into Measure Q funds and management. Nothing has been resolved. Nonetheless, the City Finance Department wants to raid Q funds for other, non-specified uses under the label of a fiscal emergency/necessity . I urge you to honor the will of the voters and reject the proposal to divert Q funds.
As a 27-year Oakland resident and Chair of the Lake Merritt Community Alliance, I urge you to reject the proposed cuts to Measure Q funding.
Oakland voters approved Measure Q to support parks, recreation, and homelessness services. Those needs remain significant throughout the city. At Lake Merritt and parks across Oakland, residents continue to experience inadequate restroom facilities, deferred maintenance, litter, landscaping needs, and other quality-of-life challenges that Measure Q was intended to address.
I recognize the City's fiscal challenges, but diverting voter-approved funds is not the answer. Recent reports indicate that substantial Measure Q funds remain unspent. Rather than reducing these investments, the Council should focus on improving oversight, establishing clear priorities, and ensuring that Measure Q dollars are deployed efficiently and transparently.
Cutting Measure Q funding sends the wrong message to voters. Public trust depends on knowing that funds approved for specific purposes will be used as promised. I respectfully ask you to preserve Measure Q funding and focus on delivering the results Oakland residents were promised when they voted for this measure.
We are counting on you to include the funding allocation of $500,000 for Lake Merritt in the final budget to be approved. Please don’t siphon off Measure Q funds for other purposes.
Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission reported that approximately $22 million in Measure Q funding remains available. We ask the City Council and PRAC to establish clear projections for use of these funds, including restroom facilities and maintenance, landscaping, litter removal, and other park improvements.
Lake Merrit is literally the “heart” of Oakland- a landmark, a wildlife refuge and the iconic spot that draws tourists, residents from the entire Bay Area and of course neighbors near the lake. Support is needed for public safety, accessibility as well as clean and well maintained spaces.
Of course all of this needs even more than $500,00 but could we at least start with that amount and make Lake Merritt a priority in this budget cycle? I encourage those of you who have the ability to vote on this allocation to do so . It will mean a great deal to all of Oakland.
Item 5 (26-0779), Maintenance of Effort Waivers. I'm a North Oakland (D1) resident. I OPPOSE this resolution.
This declares "extreme fiscal necessity" to waive a stack of voter mandates at once: the Measure Q parks, recreation, and homelessness MOE; the Affordable Housing Trust Fund set-aside; the Democracy Dollars public financing minimum; and the advisory-board review for soda-tax spending. Voters approved each of these, and the city is still collecting the taxes that fund them. Declaring an emergency to avoid spending that money as promised, while continuing to take it in, breaks faith with the people who voted yes.
This is also becoming a habit. The city has leaned on repeated "fiscal necessity" declarations to bypass mandates rather than fix a structural deficit it has known about for years. Measure Q funds remain underspent even as parks struggle with maintenance, litter, and restrooms, which is a management problem, not a reason to divert the money.
Honoring these mandates is not the cause of the deficit. The largest controllable cost is OPD overtime, which has run tens of millions over budget for over a decade, topping $55M in FY2023-24. Discipline that before raiding voter-approved parks and housing funds.
I ask Council to reject the MOE waivers in 26-0779, keep Measure Q, Affordable Housing, and Democracy Dollars funded as voters directed, and close the deficit through controllable spending. Honor the voters.
I urge the Council to protect Measure Q funding and reject proposals to divert these voter-approved funds.
I and other Oakland residents voted for Measure Q to support parks, recreation, and homelessness services. I pay substantial taxes as a result of that supporting vote. Park and homeless needs have not gone away. In fact, many parks continue to struggle with inadequate restroom facilities, deferred maintenance, litter, landscaping needs, and other quality-of-life issues. At the same time, significant questions remain about how Measure Q funds are being allocated and what outcomes they are achieving.
There has been a grand jury investigation into Measure Q funds and management. Nothing has been resolved. Nonetheless, the City Finance Department wants to raid Q funds for other, non-specified uses under the label of a fiscal emergency/necessity . I urge you to honor the will of the voters and reject the proposal to divert Q funds.
As a 27-year Oakland resident and Chair of the Lake Merritt Community Alliance, I urge you to reject the proposed cuts to Measure Q funding.
Oakland voters approved Measure Q to support parks, recreation, and homelessness services. Those needs remain significant throughout the city. At Lake Merritt and parks across Oakland, residents continue to experience inadequate restroom facilities, deferred maintenance, litter, landscaping needs, and other quality-of-life challenges that Measure Q was intended to address.
I recognize the City's fiscal challenges, but diverting voter-approved funds is not the answer. Recent reports indicate that substantial Measure Q funds remain unspent. Rather than reducing these investments, the Council should focus on improving oversight, establishing clear priorities, and ensuring that Measure Q dollars are deployed efficiently and transparently.
Cutting Measure Q funding sends the wrong message to voters. Public trust depends on knowing that funds approved for specific purposes will be used as promised. I respectfully ask you to preserve Measure Q funding and focus on delivering the results Oakland residents were promised when they voted for this measure.
Thank you.