OAKLAND — A bunch of metropolis councilmembers mentioned Tuesday they’ve discovered room in Oakland’s two-year price range to stop employee layoffs, non permanent hearth station closures or different deep service cuts that had been on the Metropolis Council’s desk.
Their new plan for balancing the town’s $245 million deficit entails decreasing the wage scale for unfilled positions, lowering the variety of police-training academies and drawing more cash out of a fund that insures the town towards authorized claims, amongst different measures.
The cash saved would whole $8 million within the subsequent fiscal yr, which begins in July, and $15 million within the following fiscal yr that runs via June 2027. The financial savings would assist keep away from — for now — the worst attainable price range outcomes of the town’s monetary woes. However the Metropolis Corridor monetary struggles stay, per a brand new report that tasks additional shortfalls within the coming years.
Metropolis Council members Rowena Brown, Janani Ramachandran, Zac Unger and Charlene Wang formally introduced their steered price range tweaks a day forward of when deliberations have been set to start over a $4.36 billion spending plan for the approaching two years.
As is customary in Oakland’s price range processes, the brand new numbers would amend a spending proposal authored by fellow Councilmember Kevin Jenkins, who served as interim mayor earlier than Barbara Lee was elected in April and sworn in final month to fill Oakland’s prime political workplace.
The council, which Jenkins has since rejoined, is predicted to finalize a balanced price range earlier than the tip of this month, although doing so has confirmed to be a steep problem in Oakland amid declining tax revenues and bloated extra time prices for cops and firefighters.
Jenkins’ pitch for fixing the continued monetary disaster, not less than for the following two years, referred to as for as much as 80 metropolis employee layoffs. It additionally deliberate to “brown out” two hearth stations on a short lived foundation, closures that might rotate throughout Oakland’s 28 firehouses relying on the calendar.
However the 4 councilmembers, who serve on the council’s finance and administration committee, mentioned they dug via the price range and located further money that might maintain off these dramatic reductions.
If accredited by the eight-member Metropolis Council, the amendments would mark yet one more departure by the council from repeated warnings by metropolis price range officers — together with Finance Director Erin Roseman, who is ready to depart her place this week — that each accessible lever to stop extra painful cuts had already been pulled.
Oakland Metropolis Councilmember Janani Ramachandran speaks about proposed price range amendments at a podium on the steps in entrance of Metropolis Corridor, alongside fellow council members Zac Unger, proper, Charlene Wang, far left, and Rowena Brown. (Shomik Mukherjee/Bay Space Information Group)
The only largest spending lower proposed by the committee is $3.9 million saved from lowering one of many six police academies budgeted for this yr and subsequent. For context, the entire Oakland Police Division’s academies have been canceled in January via the tip of the fiscal yr in June.
New recruits to the OPD attend these coaching facilities, however lately they’ve struggled with enrollment, graduating simply 12 cadets in the latest class and 21 on common, officers mentioned. Sometimes, the division budgets three academies every year, although it typically can not fill all of them. OPD hasn’t had success in luring officers from different departments — often known as “laterals” — so more and more the drive has relied closely on academies.
A tax measure accredited by voters final yr requires the town to workers a minimal of 700 cops, which OPD has struggled to do. The division at present has round 675 sworn officers on the drive however 140 of them are out on both medical or administrative go away.
Ramachandran, nevertheless, mentioned $200,000 saved within the committee’s amendments may velocity up a notoriously gradual appeals course of for not less than a few of these officers who’re on go away whereas awaiting choices on misconduct claims.
The committee additionally needs to attract a further $7.1 million from the self-insurance legal responsibility fund, a tranche of cash supposed to pay out authorized claims. Metropolis officers already drew cash from the fund in December, staving off fears on the time that the town may turn into fiscally bancrupt.
Their amendments additionally suggest decreasing the beginning wage for unfilled metropolis positions that weren’t already frozen by metropolis leaders in cost-saving strikes earlier this yr. And the proposal seems to be to a smidgen of latest income, specifically a contract for brand new promoting cash in public areas.
Along with the prevented layoffs, the town would be capable of hold all of its hearth stations opened, a actuality that Oaklanders have loved in latest days after earlier budgetary brownouts.
However the metropolis is prone to as soon as once more face deeper price range cuts down the highway, in line with its five-year monetary forecast, which tasks shortfalls via the tip of the last decade as a result of rising prices of paying employee pensions.
Initially Printed: June 10, 2025 at 3:10 PM PDT
