Oakland residents sound off on eliminating 400 jobs, reducing police overtime
Oakland residents sound off on plan to close "structural" budget deficit
Oakland City Council is taking steps to try to close a projected budget gap of more than $100 million for the next fiscal year. A town hall was held Wednesday night, with many residents expressing worry about potential cuts, amid ongoing concerns about crime and quality of life.
OAKLAND, Calif. - The Oakland City Council is taking steps to try to close a projected budget gap of more than $100 million for the next fiscal year. A town hall was held Wednesday night, with many residents expressing worry about potential cuts, amid ongoing concerns about crime and quality of life.
Oakland faces mounting budget deficit
What they're saying:
"A budget is a reflection of our values," said Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee.
Leaders in Oakland are grappling with how to tackle a structural budget deficit that threatens to keep the city in the red for years to come.
"We need to fill up these vacant storefronts," said District 2 Councilmember Charlene Wang.
"Many of my colleagues are really interested in ensuring that Oakland is a safe place because that directly impacts economic development," said Councilmember at Large Rowena Brown.
By the numbers:
Bottom line: Oakland is spending more than it's taking in, which could mean a budget shortfall of between $115 million and $130 million every year through 2030, according to Oakland's Finance Department.
Proposal to close the deficit
At Wednesday night's town hall, residents sounded off on a two-year, $4.4 billion budget plan that would close the gap--at least on paper.
Local perspective:
"I don't want to see services cut. I do want to see economic growth," said Oakland resident Kathy Dwyer.
"Safety, I would say, is what most of my friends are most concerned about," said Oakland resident Aisha William.
The town hall came just hours after City Council met for a workshop to discuss the new budget proposal.
"Our staff have worked very hard to make this as balanced of a budget and as reflective of the needs of this city as possible," said Lee.
"I like the direction," said Wang. "But I will be making some amendments."
Proposed cuts and new revenue
Dig deeper:
Among the proposed cuts, eliminating more than 400 city jobs, mostly vacant positions, and reducing Oakland police overtime.
"How do we really make sure that as part of a budget police overspending on overtime is capped," said Oakland resident Elizabeth Wampler.
"The one category of overtime that right now is being reduced that I'm really concerned about is a reduction in vice operations, and that actually addresses the sex trafficking," said Wang.
Also under the new plan, the city anticipates fresh revenue coming in, in the form of a newly-approved sales tax, and bonds for affordable housing and street paving.
"We're really wanting to make sure that not only there's funding for affordable housing, but some of the monies that were stripped in the current budget year are restored," said Wampler.
The city was able to balance the current budget, but only by dipping into emergency reserves and the general fund.
"If there's anything we learned in the past election cycles, community members, voters, they want to see change," said Brown.
"We believe in the city. We've lived here many years. We know it can rise again," said Dwyer.
What's next:
More budget town halls are planned in the days to come.