The Committee meetings this week are designated as “special”—meaning they do not need the same kinds of advanced noticing that a committee would usually require. The meetings would have happened last week, but were bumped for Rosh Hoshana in the original schedule prepared at the beginning of the year.
Some items that were expected to appear in this, the first pre-scheduled committee meetings are still sight unseen—the City’s security contract, for example, does have some degree of urgency as does the ostensibly "urgent" abatement policy.
Security Contract Under Water Again, No Committee Scheduling
The current city-wide security provider, ABC, has been operating without a contract on a month to month basis for nearly 4 months, and that last contract extension was already an extension from failed bid processes that go back as far as 2022. The City again ran into difficulties with the contractor Oakland Public Works [OPW] chose through its competitive process, Allied. At a July meeting, the Public Works Committee instead moved to schedule a contract award to Marina Security Services, the close-second finisher in the process, in a rickety legislative move that should have gone to Rules for scheduling to the September 30 meeting.
At a Rules meeting last week, however, a new item that would regardless grant the contract to Allied appeared for scheduling to October 14 public works committee meeting. CM Carroll Fife rightly noted at that meeting that this was a brand new item, with no legislative history, i.e, not a product of the last public works committee meeting. After some debate, the item awarding the contract to Allied was withdrawn, but could appear again on the October 14 public works agenda.
Public Works Interim Director Josh Rowan, indicated that OPW now recommends his department step out of the purchasing process altogether and sending the contract process back to the City's Central Purchasing in the Contract Division. He said he believed such a process would take an additional 3 months to present a contract to the City Council for approval. So its possible the security item disappears again for several months.
No Sign of "Abatement" Policy
CM Houston's "Abatement" policy, that would rewrite the current way the City approaches homeless encampments, also failed to materialize as the month closes. After the collapse of consensus around the changes due to potential loss of state funding for homelessness, and the revelation by the City Attorney that the offices of CM Houston and Council President Kevin Jenkins had violated the Brown Act, the item has remained in the Public Safety pending list with no date specific.
Here's a rundown of the most significant legislation, though not exhaustive. Some items have only received a cursory review here. Each heading is a link to the meeting agenda, and each item is also linked to the reports and information on the City's legislative website.
Finance
Several pro-forma paperwork items working their way through the committee
Appropriations Limits For FY 2025-26: State law requires that the City annually reset its appropriations limits for its local taxes, based on income growth and population growth. The total limit will now exceed 1 billion dollars.
Options To Raise Additional Ongoing $40 Million In General Purpose Fund Revenues: A largely pro-forma review of alternative funds-raising tools available to the City to fill the second fiscal year hole of 40 MM dollars. It’s noteworthy that the report is open that for many years, across political lines, Oakland has balanced its budget with one time funds. Not surprisingly, the report finds that the only ongoing way the City has to add tens of millions annually without relying on windfalls will be another parcel tax—the Public Safety Services & Key Equipment, IT Systems, 911 Investments tax proposed but not defined in the biennial budget. The report is mostly an argument that only a parcel tax can fill the hole. A sample legislative text that would put a parcel tax measure on the ballot accompanies the item. The tax would have to be written and passed at Council before March 6, the 88 day deadline to place a ballot measure on the June ballot.
City Of Oakland Investment Policy For FY 2025-26: Another pro-forma process, but one of significance during the current political climate and as ALCO continues to deliberate on a renewed investment policy that could see banning of Israeli-tied investments. The investment policy notably lists all of the City Council’s legislation limiting investment in companies over political issues, including those that profit off nuclear technology, tobacco, and DHS contracts—noteworthy as it was recently revealed that Flock, the City’s ALPR provider, performed services for DHS this year.
OPD Overtime Report: Those that believed this would be a contemporaneous survey of current overtime use will be disappointed. The report is two months old and focuses on an already predicted overtime overage in 24-25. Its possible more current info will be given in an oral report.
Public Works and Transportation
A large agenda almost exclusively focused on big contracts for city infrastructure. Notable focus on asphalt purchasing, after hours public infrastructure reporting contractor, and an expansion of a Civcorp contract that would use Measure MM funds to hire at-risk youth for vegetation management.
Community and Economic Development
Permit Ready Express Program: Legislation to use a state funded grant to accelerate projects that are nearly ready for construction; also to aid pre-development affordable housing processes.
Middle Income JPA Bond Financing Program: HCD proposes a plan to use state Joint Powers Authorities [JPAs] and funding to create deed restricted housing affordable to middle income renters [around 80% of AMI]. The report from HCD’s Emily Weinstein argues that an over-production of luxury apartments during Oakland’s boom years made ostensibly luxury units cheaper due to their ubiquity, and developers having to cut their own rents to compete. That created new affordability for middle income residents.
That period is declining with the decline of market rate housing production, and rents will likely rise out of the reach of “middle-income” tenants now enjoying cheaper rents, per the report. To combat that near-future, the program would use existing fund sources, relying on the distressed Oakland residential market where prices for newly developed upper income housing have already tumbled. The report suggests the City could take advantage of the “bargain prices and invest in conversion of those units into long-term affordable housing.” through deed restriction.
The program would resemble the City’s existing Acquisition and Conversion to Affordable Housing [ACAH] program for low-income properties, but the City would use existing non-Oakland fund sources and entities to acquire the buildings in a complicated process. The City, however, would lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in property tax levies annually should the program proceed, as would the OUSD and ALCO.
Affordable Housing Funding - Program Income And FY2025-26 HCD Capital Funds: Legislation that would allocate Affordable Housing funding from various sources including Measure U. The monies were already budgeted in July.
Sale Of 1226 73rd Avenue: A rare authorization to sell a small residential apartment building owned by the City of Oakland. The building is a quadruplex that's been owned by the City since the 90s and run by a third party as a homelessness intervention. The property, however, fell into disrepair, was shut down and then redtagged after a fire.
2025-2029 Economic Development Action Plan: This has been in the works since the City declared the contingency budget was in effect. The report is still very vague on specifics, and very long. More to come on this.
Life Enrichment
CHS FY 25-26 Contracts: Humans Services presenting a proposal on homelessness funding that would sunset under-performing programs that have a 2025 contract end date. The proposal, if followed without Council intervention, would see much of what’s left of the City’s “community cabin” inventory and apparently both RV safe parking sites phased out when contracts with their third party support contractors end in fiscal year 25-26. The report says that would eliminate 641 beds within six months. The report notes the cuts of the under-performing programs are due mostly to lack of funding, but the report also notes that family shelter, community cabins and RV sites have been ineffective. Measure W and other funds, however, could keep the programs running if Council chooses to allocate newly available monies.
Public Safety
NSA Status: The Committee now run by very pro-OPD Wang may have to publicly contend with the epic levels of corruption at IAD that forced the hand of the judge to direct a restructuring of the IAD as the IAB, with more direct participation of city and OPD leaders. The legislative item also contains the transcript of July’s case management conference, where Judge Orrick described the "staggering number of excuses for not being in compliance with Task 2." Here is the transcript and the report:
Also, the renewal of the now decade-old Eberhardt grant, increase in DVP funding for several programs, in-kind technical assistance grant to DVP worth 1 MM.
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