The Oakland City Council last night approved a $2.4 billion two-year budget for fiscal years 2015-2017. The budget closes an estimated $18 million annual funding gap without making any cuts to City services or staffing levels. The Council voted with 6 members in favor, one opposed and one abstaining. The adopted budget includes funding for 40 new police officers, $1 million to fund new Special Investigations to reduce gun violence, and $617,000 to create a new Race and Equity Department and equity agenda.
“Thanks to the contributions of Oakland residents and City staff, our City leadership was able to pass a budget that illustrates our commitment to making Oakland an equitable city that is growing responsibly,” said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. “Working together through this process we’ve developed clear priorities and provided the funding and direction to reach our goals in a way that lifts us up as a whole so prosperity is shared.”
Mayor Schaaf’s budget priorities were to increase public safety using a holistic approach, improve the City’s physical infrastructure to create vibrancy and sustainability, support the creation of equitable jobs and housing, and be more responsive to requests for City services.
“I am proud to stand behind this work product,” said Oakland City Council President Lynette Gibson McElhaney. “I believe it is a budget that reflects our values, makes smart investments in services and will help us make Oakland a more just, safe and vibrant city.”
Council President Gibson McElhaney proposed the final budget amendments, which were developed through careful analysis of Mayor Schaaf’s proposal, as well as enhancements proposed by members of the public and fellow City Councilmembers.
The adopted budget balances competing needs for services throughout Oakland. Here are a few key highlights of the final adopted budget:
Holistic Community Safety
- Adds 40 new police officers
- Provides $1 million for Special Investigations to reduce gun violence and illegal gun dealing
- Adds two crime analysts and two police evidence technicians to help solve crimes ($885,000)
- Creates new positions to ensure police accountability reforms will be successful and sustained
- Adds 6 case managers to expand the Ceasefire Violence Prevention Strategy
- Includes $250,000 to support community policing and violence prevention
- Adds crime fighting tools to improve trend analysis and response
- Increases staffing at the Oakland Animal Shelter
Housing
- Adds 5 staff to support the Housing Assistance Center and expand staff in the Rent Adjustment program to enforce the Council-approved Tenant Protection Ordinance
- Funds legal support for tenant protection and anti-displacement ($647,000)
- Invests $520,000 to fund the top 3 priorities in the City’s Permanent Access to Housing Report in order to address affordable housing, displacement, homelessness, and shelter
- Expands the apartment inspection program to ensure our most vulnerable tenants are living in safe conditions
- Invests in affordable housing development funds
- Adds 15 Planning, Building and Fire staff to respond to an influx of building proposals and projects
- Provides housing and services for sexually exploited children and legal services for unaccompanied minors
Workforce and Jobs
- Adds $100,000 to support the existing Equal Opportunity Program department
- Maintains funding for day laborer centers
- Adds General Purpose Fund investment in the Workforce Investment system
- Provides loans for small businesses
- Supports community-led neighborhood beautification efforts and fights graffiti
- Creates an innovative re-entry Job Corps to provide meaningful work for formerly incarcerated which will be implemented and also supported by Alameda County Equity
- Invests more than $617,000 to establish an Equity Agenda, including establishing a new Race and Equity Department
- Provides $150,000 to protect workers by enforcing the voter-approved minimum wage ordinance
Caring for youth and elderly
- Preserves critical services such as libraries, Head Start, youth and senior services and recreation programs at or above current service levels
- Adds funding of $500,000 to expand library hours beginning in July 2016 to serve the greatest number of youth from under-served and disadvantaged communities
- Increases access to Oakland Parks & Recreation Centers to ensure safe places for our children to learn and play
- Adds funding for Youth Employment programming
- Creates "Preschool for All" training to enhance early childhood education programs and increase school readiness
- Provides funding to reduce chronic absenteeism of school-aged youth
- Adds new crossing guards at school sites Vibrant Sustainable Infrastructure
- Redirects funds for street paving and repair and improving the City's infrastructure
- Creates a new full-service Department of Transportation to expand our ability to deliver repaving projects and leverage new and existing transportation funds
Responsible Trustworthy Government
- Calls for the elimination of paper forms to increase the quality of municipal services
- Creates a Department of Transportation that will attract regional, state and federal grants to repair our streets and sidewalks
- Invests in an innovative pilot program to get mattresses and illegal dumping off of our streets