Workshop Materials
A collection of documents that you can use for your own Oakland budget workshops.
Presentation
Budget Basics
Fiscal Year 2025-27
Overview of the City Budget Process
What is the City's budget process?
From January to June, every other year, City staff, the Mayor, and City Council work together to create a balanced budget by June 30, as required by law.
The Budget Process
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Budget Advisory Commission budget survey analysis completed.
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Council budget retreat and priorities developed.
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April - Finance Committee
Five-Year Forecast presented to City Council's Finance Committee.
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May - Mayor
The Mayor releases the Proposed FY 2025-27 Budget and City Council budget forums begin.
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June - City Council
City Council develops alternative budget proposals, and adopts final budget by June 30th.
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July - FY 2025-2026
New fiscal year 2025-2026 begins on July 1.
Highlight Video
SPUR - the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association — is a nonprofit public policy organization. These articles are part of a three-part series that will examine how Oakland can close its structural deficit and move toward fiscal solvency and economic growth.
1. What It Will Take to Close Oakland’s Structural Deficit, Part 1: How We Got Here
Past Adopted Budgets & Related Documents
Archive of the past adopted budgets and budget actions.
Related Events
Most-Asked Questions at Community Budget Workshops (March 2025)
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ANSWER: The City of Oakland operates on a two-year budget cycle, with the next budget will covering July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2027. The current Interim Mayor is leading the budget development process with the City Administrator, Finance staff, and the Departments’ leadership. A draft budget proposal will be released on May 1. After that, the City Council takes over – reviewing, negotiating, and making changes before adopting a final budget.
The special election for Oakland voters to choose a new permanent mayor is on April 15. Results could take up to 30 days to be certified by the Alameda County Registrar of Voters. Once certified, the City Council formally recognizes the results, and the new Mayor is sworn in.
Traditionally, the Mayor continues to play a key role working with City Council throughout the process, regardless of who is in office. Therefore, the new Mayor will have an opportunity to provide feedback on the budget as well and the transition will not disrupt the process.
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ANSWER: Police overtime is complex because public safety needs can be unpredictable. Cutting overtime can mean reducing officers available for key priorities, but the City is working to manage those costs.
Efforts include:
- A 25% reduction target for police overtime spending;
- Increased oversight--OPD now submits planned overtime requests to the Mayor’s Office and City Administrator’s Office for review;
- Approval of specific overtime requests, such as additional security for NBA All Star weekend, and public safety support for upcoming federal holidays, such as Juneteenth and Memorial Day; and
- Quarterly reports to track spending, with an update planned for the April City Council meeting.
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ANSWER: There are multiple opportunities for community input:
- January 2025 survey: About 7,000 residents participated in a survey led by the Budget Advisory Commission (BAC), a volunteer group focused on the details of City budgeting best practices and budget education. Those results are also available online via the BAC web page. (You can find out more about how to become a part of the BAC itself.)
- Town halls in May and June: After the draft budget is released in May, City Councilmembers will host district-specific town halls where residents can submit their feedback.
- Visit this page to find out who your Councilmember is based on where in Oakland you live.
- Sign up with each Council Office for their newsletters and updates to learn when they are scheduling town halls and other events.
- City Council meetings: Public meetings will be held in May and June, where residents can speak directly to elected leaders. Meetings are held at City Hall and streamed online.
- Join local organizations: Groups that actively work on budget issues participate in the budget process. Groups like the BAC, League of Women Voters and SPUR collaborated with the City in this budget cycle. Residents can explore, join or collaborate with these or any organizations whose work matters to you.
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ANSWER: Oakland is pursuing several strategies to increase revenue, including:
- Collecting of unpaid business taxes;
- Encouraging economic development by streamlining and improving permitting and other services that support new investments;
- Promoting cultural arts and local businesses through initiatives like Oakland Restaurant Week (March 20-30) and Oakland Small Business Week (May 4-10);
- Expanding partnerships with labor groups and the City Council to identify additional revenue opportunities.
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ANSWER: A structural deficit happens when the City’s ongoing expenses exceed ongoing revenues. Addressing this requires long term solutions, not just one-time fixes.
Structural changes could include:
- Reducing or eliminating certain services to cut costs
- Investing in revenue-generating programs to increase income
- Evaluating City priorities to determine where funds should be allocated
The budget process will include discussions about which services to prioritize and sustain versus which may need adjustments.
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ANSWER: Voters passed Measure KK in 2016 and Measure U in 2022, authorizing the City to issue bonds to fund capital projects for street paving, public facilities, and affordable housing. The City put that money to swift work and has for several years delivered record-breaking paving mileage, improved parks and facilities, and investments in hundreds of affordable housing units.
In early March 2025, City Administrator Jestin Johnson requested from an independent financial advisor their professional recommendations for how and when to proceed with issuing bonds. Their recommendations affirmed our approach of prioritizing our focus on addressing the structural budget deficit in the upcoming biennial budget for FY25-27. After adoption of the biennial budget, the Administration will turn its focus to pursuing a bond issuance, potentially as soon as the fourth quarter of this calendar year. We are actively laying groundwork now and we will present a proposed plan regarding timing of bond issuance to the City Council at its meeting on April 14, 2025.