Oakland Mayor Releases Mid-Cycle Budget & Measure E Spending Plan

Published on May 15, 2026

Oakland Mayor Releases Mid-Cycle Budget and Measure E Spending Plan
Mayor offers candid assessment of Oakland's financial reality while outlining a path to stronger public safety, cleaner streets, and expanded community services

OAKLAND, CA —Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee today published her first proposed budget — a fiscally responsible Mid-cycle Budget for Fiscal Year 2026-27 that reflects Oakland's improving but still constrained financial condition, accompanied by a spending plan for how Measure E revenues--if approved by voters on the June 2 ballot--would be used to enhance public safety and clean streets.

"This budget is honest about what we can and cannot afford, and it lays out a clear plan for how Measure E parcel tax dollars will be spent if voters approve it,” said Mayor Lee. “Our city continues to face serious financial pressures and longstanding quality-of-life challenges, but there are also signs of progress and momentum. Violent crime and gun violence are declining by double digits to historic lows, coordination across City government is improving, and Oaklanders continue to show extraordinary pride and hope in the city we call home. Yet our City continues to face grave financial and operational challenges that must be decisively addressed.”

A Fiscally Responsible Budget That Still Falls Short
Mayor Lee is proposing a fiscally sound mid-cycle budget that is balanced and does not include any layoffs of City staff. Importantly, it does not count on revenue from the Measure E parcel tax, which has not yet been approved by voters.

The City closed the shortfall from the assumed $40 million parcel tax by freezing vacant positions and reducing contract services across the organization. These reductions will have real effects on the services the City can provide to residents.

“At a time when many local governments are laying off staff, this budget recognizes that Oakland’s workforce is essential to maintaining public safety, responding to homelessness, keeping neighborhoods clean, and delivering the services residents rely on every day.”

Mayor Lee is direct about the budget's limitations. Despite meaningful progress in stabilizing Oakland's finances over the past two years, the City's revenue base remains insufficient to fully meet residents' service expectations. Aging infrastructure, years of deferred maintenance, and outdated equipment & technology continue to slow the City's responsiveness and drive up the long-term cost of delivering core services.

"I want to be honest with Oaklanders: even a fiscally sound budget is not enough," she said. In her transmittal letter to the City Council, Mayor Lee provided her current assessment of City finances and services for Oaklanders:

The City must earn the trust of the Oaklanders we serve. Residents want faster, more efficient delivery and results on core services such as emergency response, homelessness, illegal dumping, and safety. Oakland’s budget should reflect these priorities and deliver on those responsibilities and promises.
The City is chronically financially distressed. Simply put, the ongoing cost of providing City services continues to grow faster than Oakland’s recurring revenues. This structural imbalance has led to repeated budget deficits, increasing financial strain, and difficult reductions that have impacted the City’s ability to consistently deliver the level of services Oaklanders deserve. The City’s Road Map to Fiscal Health is our framework to tackling these longstanding problems and breaking the constant cycles of cuts and austerity. This budget is a step in the right direction, it is balanced and reduces our structural deficit, but it is not sufficient to address our longstanding problems.
Beyond our financial deficit, the City’s service delivery levels are unacceptable. For the past few budget cycles, the General Purpose Fund has not been healthy enough to meet the matching fund commitments contained in the special tax ballot measures residents have generously provided. The City has not provided the levels of services that Oaklanders demand and deserve. Oaklanders deserve more than just the bare minimum for core City services like safety, emergency calls, and neighborhood cleanliness.
Outdated critical equipment and technology impair our ability to provide adequate services. Fire engines and trucks are well beyond their useful lives and are in danger of failure. If the City does not have operating engines and trucks, we will be forced to close firehouses, which will compromise public safety. This would be devastating on a day-to-day basis for residents needing emergency medical response and could be catastrophic during a major disaster. Our illegal dumping equipment is in such a poor state that it impairs the ability of City crews to clean up the trash on our streets.
Federal and state funding are uncertain, shrinking, and unreliable. Over the last two years, Oakland has experienced approximately $24 million in lost or delayed federal funding for emergency infrastructure and essential services, with additional shortages ahead. The City is currently facing an estimated $5 million State of California Continuum of Care budget gap needed to sustain six critical programs for homelessness services, including 190 shelter and housing beds that will be taken offline this summer.

What the Mid-Cycle Budget Does Not Address
In her frank assessment, Mayor Lee continued, “I am not satisfied with the level of services provided by this proposed budget, and you should not be either. Due to ongoing and long-term fiscal constraints, this proposed budget continues to not adequately address the following:

Fire Safety Equipment: The budget does not provide sufficient funds to replace our aging fire vehicles.
Illegal Dumping: In the illegal dumping unit, positions remain frozen, and there are no designated equipment funds for the purchase of critical equipment needed to address illegal dumping.
Police Staffing and 911 Response Times: The budget sustains the police department’s staffing levels, which means that without sufficient police officers, the City will face longer emergency response times, reduced patrol presence, delayed investigations, increased officer burnout, and ongoing challenges to respond effectively to public safety emergencies.
Providing Shelter to Homeless and Closing Encampments: Without additional financial support, approximately 190 shelter and housing beds would be taken offline. The loss of these programs could have a substantial impact on the community’s homelessness response capacity and continuity of care.
Serving Youth and Seniors: Our senior centers are not able to be open five days a week, leaving many older adults with nowhere to go for connection, wellness, and essential services. Recreation programs are limited in the number of at-risk young people that they can serve both after school, and during the summer where so many of our most vulnerable become involved with dangerous and anti-social activities.
Supporting Arts and Culture: The proposed budget does not include resources to advance the City’s arts and cultural programs or to enhance coordination with local artists and cultural organizations. It also does not extend funding to enhance the City’s capacity to deliver arts and cultural services across neighborhoods.

“Without additional local funding and continued fiscal discipline,” she concluded, “Oakland will face increasingly difficult decisions that extend beyond quality-of-life services and into the core public safety and emergency response functions residents depend on.”

Measure E Spending Plan
On June 2, Oakland residents will decide on important quality-of-life issues, including the proposed Measure E -- the Oakland Public Safety, Cleanliness, and Accountability Act of 2026 -- a locally controlled funding measure intended to help restore critical City services. For transparency, the proposed budget also outlines how Measure E funds, if approved by voters, are to be prioritized to prevent reduced services by:

Protecting 911 fire and emergency medical response times by keeping fire stations open, equipped, and fully operational.
Addressing illegal dumping, litter, and trash in streets and parks by keeping illegal dumping clean-up infrastructure staffed and operational.
Reducing homeless encampments and providing emergency, temporary shelter resources to connect unhoused people with housing, addiction, and mental health services and illegal dumping clean-up crews and equipment.
Sustaining reductions in violent crime and gun violence; preventing reduction of police patrols; supporting investigations; and funding special operations for sideshow, Ceasefire, human trafficking, burglary suppression, and commercial district enforcement.

Public Engagement Process Begins—Key Dates
The full proposed budget will be published online tomorrow at www.oaklandca.gov. Over the next two weeks, the City will host three community budget education presentations:

Friday, May 15, 6:00 – 7:30 pm, Leona Lodge, co-hosted with Council President Jenkins, District 6. Register here.
Monday, May 18, 5:30 – 7:00 pm, Lincoln Recreation Center, co-hosted with Councilmember Wang, District 2. Register here.
Thursday, May 28, 6:00 – 7:30 pm, location TBD, co-hosted with Councilmember Ramachandran, District 4. Register here.

The City Council will begin budget deliberations at a Special Meeting on Monday, June 1; other City Council meetings to discuss the budget will be announced at a later date. June 30 is the deadline for the City Council to pass a balanced budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

Related Resources

Mayor’s Budget Transmittal Letter(PDF, 96KB)

Proposed FY 26-27 Mid-cycle Budget

Summary: Measure E Spending Plan

Roadmap to Fiscal Health

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