The Oakland City Council voted to approve their mid-cycle budget with a 6-2 vote after tense exchanges had council members working toward quick compromises.
The vote included $72 million worth of amendments introduced by Finance and Management Committee members Janani Ramachandran, Kevin Jenkins, Zac Unger and Rowena Brown on Thursday, and additional proposals offered by councilmembers Carroll Fife and Charlene Wang during Friday’s meeting.
“Today’s budget passage reflects the commitment by our budget team to solving our city’s most pressing issues by providing the core services necessary to keep our residents safe — but doing so in a manner that prioritizes long-term fiscal responsibility,” said Ramachandran in a statement. “By spending within our means and focusing on the priorities that are most vital to our communities, we are charting a new course for Oakland rooted in safety, sustainability, and transparency.”
The budget includes money for one-time expenditures such as new fire and dump trucks, shelter beds, beautification and graffiti removal programs, a program to financially incentivize filmmakers to film movies in Oakland, streetlight maintenance, public restrooms in parks, among other things. Money was also allocated for long-term pension payments, public safety programs and homelessness services.
However, the vote did not go off without a few moments of contention.
Focused on increasing civilian oversight for the Oakland Police Department, Fife demanded that the members of the Public Safety Committee, which includes Fife, Wang, Brown and Councilmember Ken Houston, do a deep dive with her into OPD’s budget in hopes to identify areas where they could get increased civilian oversight and reduce expenses to earn Fife’s vote on the budget.
All three committee members agreed to work with Fife after she asked for their written commitments “in blood.” Fife voted yes on the budget.
Funding fight over senior services
Groups of older people from all over Oakland spoke during the public comment period to advocate for increased hours at city-operated senior centers. According to the city’s website, senior centers are currently open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Feeling frustrated by their persistent yearly advocacy for improving hours, Jenkins noted how important it was to find long-term funding sources to keep centers opened five days a week. He then spontaneously proposed allocating $200,000 of an Oakland Unified School District grant for improving water fountains to go toward “supporting our seniors” instead.
While members of the crowd were supportive of Jenkins’ concerns, several community members vocalized displeasure by this quick decision and were angered by where the money was being diverted from.
As the crowd booed and shouted, the council called for silence before moving forward with the meeting.
“When the seniors were here, it was clap, clap, clap,” Jenkins said in response. The proposal made its way into the budget.
Through an amendment to the budget, Wang was able to divert general fund money to hire a temporary worker to enforce penalties for sex traffickers under an already approved ordinance that fines nuisance businesses like hotels where sexual exploitation takes place.
Red light cameras resurface
After seeing that her other proposed amendment, reinstating red light cameras around Oakland, did not appear on the budget, she asked for clarification and argued for the policy, especially seeing this policy as a revenue source for the city.
“I think traffic safety is absolutely public safety,” Wang said. “I need an explanation in order to earn my yes vote, I really do.”
Without receiving an answer, she voted no on the budget.
As the voting period ended and the council moved to an open public forum, one of the two no voters, Councilmember Noel Gallo, grabbed his bags in a huff and quickly left the room.
