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City Council Adopts Two-Year, $3.29 billion "Oakland Together" Budget

Council amendments augment Mayor's baseline budget and enhance resources to address shared priorities: homelessness, housing, and illegal dumping.

Oakland, CA – In a unanimous vote Monday night, the Oakland City Council adopted the balanced, two-year $3.29 billion “Oakland Together” budget covering fiscal years 2019-2021; the new fiscal year begins July 1.

The Oakland Together budget adopts the Mayor’s proposed budget and augments funding ($44.4 million in amendments) to address shared priorities on which the Mayor, the City Council, and Oaklanders are aligned, including:

  • Affordable housing and anti-displacement measures
  • Homeless services and solutions
  • Park maintenance
  • Illegal dumping prevention and clean-up
  • Street paving and potholes
  • Community safety and violence prevention
  • Wildfire prevention
  • Economic and workforce development

Originally proposed by Councilmembers Bas, Thao, Taylor, and Council President Kaplan, and amended by Councilmembers McElhaney and Kalb, the “Oakland Together” budget was approved by an 8-0 vote.

“I’m pleased the Council’s unified action will allow us to make unprecedented investments in homelessness and affordable housing, and to start a historic road paving plan on July 1,” said Mayor Libby Schaaf. “Most importantly, the Council rejected irresponsible proposals and preserved Oakland’s fiscal momentum and sustainability.”

Over the next two years, the FY 2019-21 Adopted Policy Budget includes the following service enhancements and improvements:

Homelessness ($32.0 million)

  • Creates Oakland’s first-ever Commission on Homelessness.
  • Allocates $19.3 million in State Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) funding ($10 million of which is anticipated from the Governor’s budget for homeless services).
  • HEAP funds will expand existing homeless programs such as Community Cabins and safe parking; enhance the health, sanitation, and safety of unsheltered residents; and provide employment training and opportunities to hire unsheltered people to assist with litter removal at encampments.
  • Supports rapid-rehousing, services, and interventions for homeless residents, including a mobile homeless outreach team.
  • Creates a $2.7 million fund for anti-displacement services and housing security improvements.
  • Note: in partnership with the San Francisco Foundation, the Keep Oakland Housed program augments the City’s budget with $8 million in rapid anti-displacement assistance.

Protect Tenants and Produce Affordable Housing ($55.4 million)

  • Creates a Permanent Affordability Fund, which proposes $12 million in FY 2019-20 to acquire, rehabilitate, and preserve small sites for permanent affordability, prioritizing households under 80% AMI.
  • Allocates funding for affordable housing from Measure KK bond funds.
  • Acquires transitional housing facilities, including a center for families.
  • Preserves and protects existing housing for vulnerable renters.
  • Acquires sites for future affordable housing, including new construction.
  • Provides rehabilitation assistance for low-income homeowners.
  • Funds proactive inspection of rental properties for health and safety.
  • Actively enforces renter-protection laws and expands assistance for tenants and landlords in settling rent disputes.
  • Provides grants for ADA access improvements to support affordable housing for persons with disabilities.

Street Paving and Transportation ($113.3 million)

  • Improves the overall condition of Oakland’s streets and roads.
  • Prioritizes paving projects based on equity framework.
  • Funds sidewalk repair, bike and pedestrian improvements, and curb ramps.

Fire Prevention and Emergency Services ($17.6 million)

  • Funds $3.6 million in fire safety, including vegetation management, fuel reduction, and tree removal for wildfire prevention.
  • Adds 11 new positions in the Fire Prevention Bureau—covered by fees—to modernize and augment fire code inspections, vegetation management, and Fire Plan Check review to reduce fire and life safety risks for residents, businesses, and visitors.
  • Increases timely and coordinated emergency response: upgrades emergency medical dispatch software and adds three (3) 911 dispatchers (two for OFD and one for OPD) to help reduce 911 hold times.
  • Replaces an aging fire station (#29).

Illegal Dumping ($3.6 million)

  • Adds an illegal dumping crew.
  • Strengthens illegal dumping rewards program and funds an education campaign to address behavior change related to littering and dumping.
  • Funds “Last Saturday Free Dump Days” at the Edgewater Corporation Yard to assist residents with proper disposal of bulky waste.
  • Funds additional cameras in illegal dumping hot spots.

Investments in Children ($74.5 million)

  • Allocates $12 million to expand Oakland Parks, Recreation & Youth Development programs in aquatics, youth sports, and recreation.
  • Restores OUSD cuts to preserve the Restorative Justice and foster care programs.
  • Expands the City’s healthy food for children program at public libraries, Head Start centers, recreation centers, and public schools.
  • Appropriates $24.1 million in Measure KK bond funds to renovate and upgrade various recreation centers and libraries.
  • Funds two positions at OUSD to address chronic absenteeism.
  • Provides $37.6 million in support to community youth organizations through Kids First!

Violence Prevention ($7.0 million)

  • Brings on-line Oakland’s first Department of Violence Prevention.
  • Provides nearly $1 million to expand the impact of violence prevention efforts, including addressing backlog of homicide cases and gun tracing.
  • Expands geographic reach of Shotspotter.
  • Funds additional crossing guards to ensure safer routes to school.
  • Adds a complaint investigator to the Community Police Review Agency to improve the speed and responsiveness to alleged police misconduct.

Economic and Workforce Development ($4.5 million)

  • Provides $1 million to support business assistance in East Oakland and funds an East Oakland Economic Development Plan.
  • Appropriates additional funding for workforce development, employment training, and job placement.
  • Supports youth summer employment opportunities for the West Oakland Job Resource Center, which mainly serves low-income, under-served Oakland residents, teaching valuable job skills in construction, transportation, distribution, and logistics.
  • Establishes a $100,000 Community Murals fund.
  • Protects Oakland workers’ rights and safety by fully implementing voter-approved workplace protections and minimum wage for hotel workers (Measure Z), including the creation of a Department of Workplace & Employment Standards responsible for compliance and enforcement.

Library Services ($24.0 million)

  • With new Measure D funding, expands library hours at the Main Library, the African American Museum and Library at Oakland, the Tool Lending Library, and 16 neighborhood branches.
  • Expands programs and learning resources to increase access to libraries.

Citywide Services

  • Restores 8.5 FTEs dedicated to park maintenance, allowing the Administration to fill these vacant positions.
  • Expands and improves senior centers, with the goal to improve healthy foods, recreation programs, facilities, and access.
  • Adds more than 20 new positions in the Planning & Building Department to enhance service delivery (planning, zoning, inspections, plan check, and permitting).
  • Funds code compliance legal assistance and support for clearing the backlog of planning permits.
  • Supports the Northwest Community Coalition neighborhood planning.
  • Initiates expansion of 311 to integrated, citywide center to improve service delivery.
  • Adds one paralegal to support review and public disclosure of police records under California’s new police transparency law (SB 1421).
  • Provides legal support for children and families at risk of deportation.

On Monday evening the City Council also adopted the Administration’s FY 2019-21 Proposed Capital Improvement Program budget which, for the first time ever, used a ground-breaking equity analysis to enhance investments in underserved communities.

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Posted: June 26th, 2019 1:00 PM

Last Updated: June 26th, 2019 1:06 PM

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