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CMs Announce Plan to Keep Fire Stations Open—But Issues Around New Revenue & Contract Cancellations May Grow; CAO Rescinds Significant Number of Layoffs, Sends New Layoff Notices; Police Commission Budget Reduced to Level of one OPD Officer's Salary

CMs Announce Plan to Keep Fire Stations Open—But Issues Around New Revenue & Contract Cancellations May Grow; CAO Rescinds Significant Number of Layoffs, Sends New Layoff Notices; Police Commission Budget Reduced to Level of one OPD Officer's Salary

A week of visibly colliding city hall interests has left questions about the future of the cost-cutting City budgetary actions taken in December by the City Administrator’s Office [CAO] and supported by the City Council. Last Tuesday morning, a coalition of unions held a rally in front of city

Administration's Layoffs Contested, Eviction Defense Grant in Limbo, as Council Slow to Agendize Growing Budget Problems

Administration's Layoffs Contested, Eviction Defense Grant in Limbo, as Council Slow to Agendize Growing Budget Problems

In December, Oakland's City Administrator’s Office [CAO] asked the City Council to affirm a plan to lay off 91 city workers in February as a necessary tool for closing Oakland’s sizable budget deficit. The layoffs would follow already brutal cuts to city services and programs, including

City Administrator’s Office Announces Layoffs and $2.6 MM Grant Cuts While Pared Down Council Meetings Continue Amid Other CAO Spending Requests; Judge Ursula Jones-Dickson Chosen as Interim District Attorney Appointee in Split Vote

City Administrator’s Office Announces Layoffs and $2.6 MM Grant Cuts While Pared Down Council Meetings Continue Amid Other CAO Spending Requests; Judge Ursula Jones-Dickson Chosen as Interim District Attorney Appointee in Split Vote

CAO Announces Layoffs and $2.6 MM Grant Cuts; Pared Down Council Meetings Continue Amid Other CAO Requests for Increased Spending Oakland's City Administrator Jestin Johnson announced long-anticipated layoffs in an email to staff this week, according to sources and an internal memo sent Thursday, viewed by this

Council Meetings Short on Duration and Legislation Under Gallo's Leadership; City Vehicular Homeless Evictions Increasingly Led by OPD; Mitchell Details Possible Pursuit Changes, Describes Lengthy Timeline

Council Meetings Short on Duration and Legislation Under Gallo's Leadership; City Vehicular Homeless Evictions Increasingly Led by OPD; Mitchell Details Possible Pursuit Changes, Describes Lengthy Timeline

Short Meetings with Few Items Typify Gallo's Council as He Struggles to Fill President Role; Homeless Advocates Speak Out Against Increasing Camp Evictions Oakland’s City Council continues to have a light legislative load as the body's latest meeting last Tuesday came in at 55 minutes,

AASEG Deal Closer to Finish Line; Police Commission Goes on Offense at Town Hall Meeting; Thao Indictment Relies Heavily on Juarez Claims/Texts

AASEG Deal Closer to Finish Line; Police Commission Goes on Offense at Town Hall Meeting; Thao Indictment Relies Heavily on Juarez Claims/Texts

ALCO BOS Passes Non-Binding Term Sheet/ Commitment to Closing Coliseum DA Transfer, Clearing One of the Last Hurdles for AASEG’s Historic Coliseum Purchase Alameda County’s Board of Supervisors passed legislation on Tuesday to trigger key steps in closing the last chapters in AASEG’s now-odyssean Coliseum deal saga.

New Council Off to Cacophonous & Unsteady Start

New Council Off to Cacophonous & Unsteady Start

On Tuesday, Oakland’s new City Council took impactful decisions. The Council– with three new members and a vacancy—elected its new President, and in essence, chose an interim Mayor who will preside over Oakland’s biggest budget challenges in years. The Council also elected a President Pro Tempore who

First Council Meetings of 2025 Will Introduce 3 New Members, Seat Mayoral Interim, Consider D2 Vacancy Role & Consider .5% Sales Tax Increase

First Council Meetings of 2025 Will Introduce 3 New Members, Seat Mayoral Interim, Consider D2 Vacancy Role & Consider .5% Sales Tax Increase

Two meetings on Monday and Thursday this coming week will start a front-loaded year of critical political processes for the City of Oakland. A strikingly different Council will be seated on Monday as current interim Mayor Nikki Fortunato Bas resigns her term at the City and takes up her seat

Council Affirms Cuts, Approves Funds, & Transfers Mayoral Seat, As Half of Council Body Bid Colleagues and Public Farewell at Last Meeting of 2024

Council Affirms Cuts, Approves Funds, & Transfers Mayoral Seat, As Half of Council Body Bid Colleagues and Public Farewell at Last Meeting of 2024

In a rare night of legislative gravitas and personal farewells, Council affirmed a difficult menu of budget choices that could see severe cuts in Oakland Fire [OFD] services and Culture and Arts funding, and an emergency-brake reining in of OPD overspending. The meeting also took an unexpected twist when two

At Council This Week, 12/16 & 12/17

At Council This Week, 12/16 & 12/17

[please see this article for budget related items] 12/16 Agenda Amend Beautification Council Contract Amount The legislation will authorize already budgeted Measure Q funds in the amount of $600K for ongoing work by Beautification Council in cleaning and garbage pickup around homeless encampments. BC already receives a city-brokered Caltrans

Oakland Budget Focus: Unusual Two Days of Council Meetings Will Introduce Far-Reaching Legislation This Week

Oakland Budget Focus: Unusual Two Days of Council Meetings Will Introduce Far-Reaching Legislation This Week

An unusual double header of Monday and Tuesday City Council meetings will introduce wide-ranging legislation focused on budget-balancing, mayoral and council vacancies, and proposed parcel and sales taxes this week. Council will deliberate on several time-sensitive legislative items on both days. Some of those must be passed by the 17th;

Oakland Budget Update: Tough Solutions to Budget Shortfalls Emerge as Insolvency and Fiscal Emergency Claims Fade

Oakland Budget Update: Tough Solutions to Budget Shortfalls Emerge as Insolvency and Fiscal Emergency Claims Fade

Finance Department/City Admin Find Surplus in Emergency Fund Said to Be Insolvent Weeks Ago; Layoffs, Reducing Emergency Fund Requirement Options That Could Balance Budget After weeks of cascading impacts from a Finance Department report that claimed the City of Oakland was in danger of imminent insolvency in November, the

At Council This Week

At Council This Week

There is an additional special meeting that begins at 12:30pm due to several items that will be lengthy. The regular meeting starts at 3:30 pm as usual. Modified Corridor Safety Ambassador Grants In July, CM Janani Ramachandran, Treva Reid and Noel Gallo fought to include a $1 MM

New Questions on Fiscal Crisis After Council Meeting

New Questions on Fiscal Crisis After Council Meeting

Despite thorough and troubling discussion about the daunting fiscal cliff facing Oakland at a Special City Council meeting last Tuesday, the way forward on the FY 24-25 budget remains an open question this week. At the meeting and in a report, Oakland's Finance Department stressed taking “immediate” action

At Council This Week

At Council This Week

Special City Council Meeting The unusually scheduled Council meeting will focus on revenue forecasts and the budget, though usually the Q1 report would be presented to the Finance Committee alone. The meeting is at 9:30 am, following a special finance committee meeting that has been rescheduled to happen earlier.