Oakland leaders lament cuts to services
Council approves some reductions as $62 million budget shortfall looms
OAKLAND >> The City Council on Wednesday approved a small set of measures to reduce the $62 million budget shortfall that Oakland is facing, but some cautioned against other cuts announced by the city administrator.
Tasked Wednesday with approving just one emergency ordinance that would authorize the city administrator to postpone scheduled pay raises for the fire and police chiefs in 2021 and impose on them 10 furlough days — saving about $85,000 for the year — the eight city council members unanimously approved the measure.
But after city Administrator Ed Reiskin released an informational report outlining other cost-saving measures his office is taking to close the budget gap, some council members cautioned about some of the proposed cuts and urged city officials to look for other ways to save money.
“I think the new incoming council members should be allowed to have some input on whatever cuts the city administration makes,” said
District 7 Council member Larry Reid, who will be replaced by his daughter, Treva Reid, in January as he retires and she takes up her elected seat.
Among the cuts announced by Reiskin is a citywide hiring freeze on non-sworn law enforcement positions that his office implemented Dec. 14 through the end of the fiscal year in June, which is expected to save $5.36 million.
He already took steps to furlough and delay pay increases for nonunion employees and directed city departments to release most of their temporary employees by Jan. 9.
Among the most controversial measures are cuts to Oakland’s Fire Department and to the violence-re
duction Ceasefire program, which is part of the Police Department’s budget.
According to Reiskin’s memo, the city will temporarily close three fire engine companies from January through June to save about $5 million. That’s a reduction from the usual 25 fire engine companies and seven fire truck companies that typically operate during that time.
That could affect emergency responses, Reiskin’s memo states. Closing the three companies would divert about 14 calls per day to other stations, and an estimated 11 of those calls could fall behind the standards set by the National Fire Protection Association, which call for a first responder to be on the scene in four minutes or less 90% of the time.
“This is dire and painful to have been even approached to contemplate the impact,” said Oakland
Fire Chief Melinda Drayton, during the meeting.
Drayton noted that previous station closures in 2003 and 2012 were not as drastic as this one. The earlier cutbacks were for one or two engine company closures, plus a truck crew, at a time.
Because Oakland fire and police services make up most of the general fund budget, Reiskin said Wednesday, they will have to take cuts.
The Fire Department came in under budget in the previous fiscal year, and the Police Department’s spending accounts for much of the budget shortfall.
The Police Department exceeded its budget last fiscal year by $32 million, including $19 million of unbudgeted overtime. The city’s finance leaders project the Police Department to go $29 million over budget in the current fiscal year.
In memos to the City
Council, interim Police Chief Susan Manheimer has noted that several protests this year, an increase in homicides and unfilled vacancies have contributed to the department’s overtime spending.
Reiskin’s memo calls for about $15 million in Police Department service reductions, including stopping discretionary overtime and reducing overtime by not backfilling certain positions.
But the cuts he outlined also include reducing the Ceasefire program — an effort to reduce gun violence in which community groups, clergy and social workers partner with police to reach out to people suspected or targeted in shootings and provide alternatives to violence.
Both council members and residents who spoke during Wednesday’s meeting expressed anxiety about
cutting back on the Ceasefire program — which has been touted as a successful model — as Oakland’s gun violence has increased over the course of the pandemic.
District 2 Council member Nikki Fortunato Bas said she worried that immediate budget cuts could undermine the work of the ongoing task force created to explore public safety alternatives and find ways to reduce the police department budget overall.
“I think it’s important that we align the budget balancing process and our (reimagining public safety) process,” she said, while also expressing concern for cutting 15% of the Fire Department’s operations.
District 6 Council member Loren Taylor said he hopes the city leadership will make public the recommendations by labor groups for cost savings so that the City Council and city administration can look at all options in January to remedy the budget shortfall.
Labor representatives and city employees have spoken out in recent weeks against the layoffs of temporary workers and other potential layoffs, urging the city to focus its cuts on the Police Department, which has exceeded its budget through overtime spending for years.
District 1 Council member Dan Kalb encouraged the city administrator to bring all options to the table in January and said he will advocate for cutting expenses such as most of the City Council’s car allowance, along with looking at additional sources of revenue.
“We do have tough decisions,” he said. “There are no good options, only a variety of bad options.”