Oakland Roadmap to Fiscal Health
About
The City Council approved an amended Consolidated Fiscal Policy (Ordinance No. 13487 C.M.S.)(PDF, 433KB) on May 15, 2018, which directs staff to produce a Five-Year Financial Forecast as part of the biennial budget development process. The current Forecast was presented to the Finance and Management Committee on May 27, 2025, and received and filed by the City Council on June 3, 2025. The Oakland Roadmap to Fiscal Health (Roadmap) is a supplemental to this Forecast and establishes strategies proposed over the coming three fiscal years to address the City’s projected mid- and long-term financial challenges. The Roadmap builds upon and further details strategies initially presented in a budget balancing report to the City Council on December 17, 2024.
What is the Roadmap?
- A multi-year plan to improve the City’s financial position and the quality of the services it provides.
- Complicated strategic projects with aggressive but achievable timelines.
- Transparent work, with regular public updates and recommendations to the Council and Mayor to provide feedback and direction.
Restoring the City’s fiscal health
Oakland’s finances have been strained in recent years:
- Pandemic impacts on tax revenue base + high-inflation driving costs
- Use of one-time funds to cover ongoing financial problems
- Five-year structural budget gap of $130M annually
Recent progress has been real:
- Quick action to close last year’s mid-year budget gap
- Passage of a sales tax increase in May
- Adoption of a more structurally balanced budget
But returning to full financial health will take sustained effort and action over several years.
Implementation Roadmap: Years One through Three
FY 2025-2026
| Action |
Date |
Status |
Establishing a fiscal health executive team to manage these financial initiatives.
Jestin D. Johnson - City Administrator
Bradley Johnson - Director of Finance
Monica Elise Davis - Deputy City Administrator
Deborah Edgerly (early support) - Consultant
Ben Rosenfeld (early support) - Consultant
Mary Hao - Director of Human Resources Management
|
July 2025 |
Completed |
| Achieve short-term structural balance during the upcoming two-year budget period. |
June 2025 |
Completed |
| Diversify the revenue base with a new voter-adopted revenue proposal in 2026. |
June 2026 |
In Progress |
| Develop a multi-year plan to meet voter-mandated staffing and service levels. |
December 2025 |
Completed |
| Develop long-term plans to contain rising pension and other benefit costs. |
March 2026 |
In Progress |
| Develop contingency plans given the risk of federal and state revenues. |
May 2026 |
In Progress |
FY 2026-2027
| Action |
Date |
Status |
| Review and update the City’s governing financial policies. |
October 2026 |
In Progress |
| Develop long-term investment plans for the City’s infrastructure, fleet, and systems. |
December 2026 |
In Progress |
| Maximize collection of existing revenue sources. |
2025-2028 |
In Progress |
| Strengthen the City’s revenue base through focused economic development efforts. |
2025-2028 |
In Progress |
FY 2027-2028
| Action |
Date |
Status |
| Improving structures needed to hold the City and its contractors accountable for delivery of city services. |
July 2027 |
In Progress |
Beyond solvency to financial health
- Oakland has made real progress towards stabilizing its finances in 2025. Sustained focus and effort will be needed to build from here.
- Restoring full fiscal health will allow us to provide the services residents deserve - with the financial resilience to weather future storms.
- The Roadmap sets an aggressive but achievable set of goals to get there.