Council members question priorities in mayor’s budget
Oakland council members late Monday weighed in on a spending plan by Mayor Jean Quan, who is proposing hiring more city staffers and police officers.
The proposed spending increases come after four years of layoffs and cuts to city services, including law enforcement, parks and senior centers.
Quan proposes new spending for a police academy to train 40 officers to help the city fill positions left open by retirements and other departures. The city has around 645 officers, a dramatic decrease from the 837 officers it had in December 2008.
Residents and community groups have been clamoring for more officers, particularly as the city has seen a spike in crime this year. The idea of using extra money to pay for an academy is supported by most, if not all, council members.
Some, however, are already questioning Quan’s other ideas on what to do with the increased revenue.
The city is expecting a $10.7 million increase in tax and other revenue this fiscal year — $6 million of which would come from one-time sources like sales taxes because of high fuel prices. The approximately $404 million budget for next year includes a $48 million reserve, which might be needed depending on how the state deals with $31.7 million in land deals made by the city’s former redevelopment agency.
Quan has proposed hiring 13 city staffers for positions like parking meter repair, a new fire marshal and more economic development staff. She said finding ways for the city to increase revenue, and not just make cuts, is vital. Senior center hours and a pothole crew are also proposed.
Several council members said that lean budget years were too recent a memory for the city to be expanding, even modestly.
“We cannot just forget that we just came through a very difficult last couple of years,” said Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente. “The idea is to become a more efficient and streamlined operation.”
Some wanted different spending priorities.
Councilwoman Jane Brunner said she would spend extra money to fund a second police academy.
“Crime is the biggest issue facing Oakland right now, and I think we need to address that before we add new employees,” Brunner said.
Councilwoman Desley Brooks said spending should focus on issues affecting neighborhoods, such as increasing recreation center hours.
“Some of the basic amenities people are expecting in the neighborhoods haven’t been restored,” she said.
Dozens of city workers came to Monday’s special meeting, complaining that Quan is budgeting money for new hires after their 10 percent pay cuts balanced the city’s budget last year.
One way Quan and City Administrator Deanna Santana are seeking to save money is by civilianizing various positions in the Police Department, which theoretically would free up sworn officers from desk jobs and put them out on the street.
Quan’s budget downplays concerns about how the state could take back money involved in redevelopment agency deals. In Oakland, the city sold the unusable Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center to its redevelopment agency for $28.3 million shortly before redevelopment agencies were dissolved by the state. The city also made an additional $3.4 million in similar deals that could be questioned by the state.
The budget put forth by Quan and Santana asserts that the city would owe the state only $13.4 million and could cover those costs in part through its reserves.
Some, like the good-government group Make Oakland Better Now, question whether the city is more vulnerable than Quan and Santana are letting on. They worry that the state’s moves could deplete the city’s $48 million reserve.
“There are more questions that need to be answered,” said Bruce Nye, the group’s board chair.