City Government

Commentary: Budget Showdown in Oakland

Published

6 years ago

June 13, 2019

Community says Schaaf’s budget hides $45 million ‘slush fund’

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf could have responded to City Council President Rebecca Kaplan’s amendments to her administration’s proposed $2.3 billion city budget with diplomacy and negotiations, as many City Hall observers had expected she would.

She could have recognized that Kaplan’s budget proposals were a response to the growing frustrations of city workers and Oakland communities who are tired of standing on the sidelines of a booming economy—illustrated by a skyline full of construction cranes. Year after year, City Hall produces austerity budgets that communities say starve the needs of local residents who are desperate for stable housing, an end to homelessness, clean and well maintained streets and parks, programs for marginalized youth and wildfire safety.

Schaaf could have realized that Kaplan’s budget recommendations do no not belong to the council president alone but are backed by neighborhood and community groups as well as supporters of the “People’s Budget,” proposed by the ReFund Community-Labor Coalition, which includes city worker unions SEIU Local 1021 and IFPTE Local 21, EBASE, EBHO, Causa Justa: Just Cause, ACCE Action, the Anti Police-Terror Project, Street Level Health Project and others.

Instead of taking the path of negotiating and deliberating, Mayor Schaaf and her administration chose to come out swinging, opting for a head-on confrontation with Kaplan and the progressives on the City Council, attacking the proposals as irresponsible and vigorously defending continued austerity measures in response to community needs. Her budget directs a huge share of the city’s income into business-as-usual funding to the Oakland Police Department and the unregulated pot of money that goes to police overtime, which costs residents about $30 million a year.

On Monday, June 10, on the same day a special City Council meeting was scheduled to discuss the Schaaf Administration’s budget proposal and the proposed amendments, the mayor sent out a blast email to local residents accusing Kaplan of “deceit and political pandering” and calling Kaplan’s budget amendment proposal “one of the most dangerous proposals I’ve ever seen to threaten Oakland’s future.”

In a move that upset many city workers, Schaaf’s city administrator, Sabrina Landreth, sent an email to all city employees titled “Update on Labor Negotiations and FY 2019-21 Budget,” dated June 6, denouncing Kaplan’s proposals for relying on “fictitious revenues” that could “potentially result in layoffs of filled positions in (the) Department of Transportation, the Clerk’s Office, OPD non-sworn and possibly employees in departments across the city.”

Speaking at Monday evening’s council meeting, Landreth refused to present a summary of the mayor’s budget to the public, saying there was no need to do that because staff had presented the proposal May 7 and that answers to questions from council members and the public had been posted online. Landreth repeatedly rebuffed Kaplan’s invitation to explain the Schaaf administration’s budget proposal to the public at Monday’s council meeting.

Mobilizing in support of the People’s Budget and Kaplan’s proposals that embodied many of them, hundreds of people packed the City Council meeting, marching up the stairs to the council chambers, with drums beating.

The main floor and the gallery seating were full to capacity, and an overflow room was opened for those who could not find a seat. The city clerk announced that 117 people had signed up to speak on the budget.

A report was presented at the meeting by Kristen Schumacher, staff researcher for Local 21, which showed that for the past seven years the administration purposely undercounted revenues by an average of $45 million a year.

Many saw this as a blow to the administration’s contention that Kaplan’s proposals were based on “fictitious revenues.”

This money, not included in the budget or in the City Council’s public budget deliberations, could eventually be spent by the administration and the mayor as they saw fit.

“Property taxes have been under-projected every single year, transient occupancy taxes have been under-projected every single year, and business license taxes have come in a minimum of $3.6 million higher and a maximum of $9 million higher over each of these seven years,” Schumacher said.

“The real estate transfer tax has been under-projected every single year by a minimum of $1.7 million and as much as $28 million,” she said. “In addition to these systematic under-projections, the vast majority of city departments underspend their budgets due to hundreds of vacancies in the non-sworn personnel budget.”

Referring to the mayor’s approach to budget deliberations, Dwight McElroy, chief steward for SEIU Local 1021, who works in the city’s paving division, said, “If there is an alternative point of view that may benefit the citizens of this city—who the money really belongs to—I don’t want to see mudslinging. I don’t want to see allegations. I don’t want to read about bully tactics.”

Dwight McElroy, chief steward, SEIU Local 1021, calls on the City Council to pass City Council President Rebecca Kaplan’s budget proposals. Photo by Ken Epstein.

The $45 million per year that was left out of the budget for seven years, said McElroy, “is restricted and has minimum use to benefit this city. You want to talk about fiction, the way you budget is a fiction.”

Felipe Cuevas, chapter president of SEIU 1021, a heavy equipment mechanic for the City of Oakland for 20 years, said, ”I just don’t understand the eagerness of our City Administrator Sabrina Landreth to harass our members with a threat of a layoff when we don’t even have a budget yet.

“If something like that would happen, if you were going to go by the rules, that would happen after you had a budget,” he said. “My union will be filing (unfair labor practice) charges over the harassment and intimidation by the city administration.”

Cat Brooks, executive director of the Justice Teams Network, said, “We here…in mass, united across race, class, ideology, profession as one Oakland. Rebecca Kaplan’s budget is the only budget that reflects the values of the city, that reflects the priorities of the people of this city,” she said. It is a budget that “puts Oakland on the path toward being the city that we profess to be, a city that is progressive and rooted in justice, equity and humanity.”

In her remarks, Kaplan denied that her proposal involved laying off union workers.

“There is no such proposal,” she said. “That was an inaccurate characterization, and I think that is part of why people feel there is a lack of respect going on—in terms of making statements that are untrue about the proposals.”

Explaining her understanding of budget deliberations, Kaplan said:

“Adopting a budget is one of the most important things we as a council do. It is our legal duty to deliberate and adopt a budget. And it is the administrative [duty] to ensure that it is implemented. How we allocate money and what we allocate it to is core to how we take action collectively as a council to ensure the needs of our city. This is a chance to put our goals and values into action by putting dollar amounts beside them.”

Budget proposals are scheduled to be discussed at the June 18 council meeting and again on June 24, if needed. The deadline for passing the completed budget is June 30.

Ken Epstein

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Activism

IN MEMORIAM: Nate Holden, State Senator and Longtime Los Angeles Councilmember, Dies at 95

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described Holden as “a lion” in the State Senate and a force to be reckoned with on the Los Angeles City Council.” Hahn added that she learned a lot working with Holden when she was a new councilmember.

Published

3 hours ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Former Los Angeles Councilmember and California State Sen. Nate Holden. File photo.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Former Los Angeles City Councilmember Nathaniel “Nate” Holden, a prominent figure in the city’s politics, passed away at the age of 95, his family confirmed on May 7.

Holden, who represented South Los Angeles for 16 years on the City Council and served one term in the California State Senate, was widely regarded as a forceful advocate for his community.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described Holden as “a lion” in the State Senate and a force to be reckoned with on the Los Angeles City Council.”

Hahn added that she learned a lot working with Holden when she was a new councilmember.

Holden’s journey to political prominence began in the segregated South, where he was born in Macon, Georgia, in 1929. He often recalled the childhood moment when he first heard the governor of Georgia vowing to continue suppressing Black people.

“Doing the best you can for the people. Law and order. Make sure that people’s communities are safe. I did it all,” said Holden, reflecting on his legacy.

Holden is survived by his sons, including former California Assemblymember Chris Holden, who represented a district in Southern California that includes Pasadena and Altadena in Los Angeles County and cities in San Bernardino County.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Oakland Hosts Town Hall Addressing Lead Hazards in City Housing

According to the city, there are 22,000 households in need of services for lead issues, most in predominantly low-income or Black and Latino neighborhoods, but only 550 to 600 homes are addressed every year. The city is hoping to use part of the multimillion-dollar settlement to increase the number of households served each year.

Published

21 hours ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Magaly Muñoz

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department hosted a town hall in the Fruitvale to discuss the efforts being undertaken to remove lead primarily found in housing in East and West Oakland.

In 2021, the city was awarded $14 million out of a $24 million legal settlement from a lawsuit against paint distributors for selling lead-based paint that has affected hundreds of families in Oakland and Alameda County. The funding is intended to be used for lead poisoning reduction and prevention services in paint only, not water or other sources as has been found recently in schools across the city.

The settlement can be used for developing or enhancing programs that abate lead-based paint, providing services to individuals, particularly exposed children, educating the public about hazards caused by lead paint, and covering attorney’s fees incurred in pursuing litigation.

Most of the homes affected were built prior to 1978, and 12,000 of these homes are considered to be at high risk for lead poisoning.

City councilmember Noel Gallo, who represents a few of the lead-affected Census tracts, said the majority of the poisoned kids and families are coming directly from neighborhoods like the Fruitvale.

“When you look at the [kids being admitted] at the children’s hospital, they’re coming from this community,” Gallo said at the town hall.

In order to eventually rid the highest impacted homes of lead poisoning, the city intends to create programs and activities such as lead-based paint inspections and assessments, full abatement designed to permanently eliminate lead-based paint, or partial abatement for repairs, painting, and specialized cleaning meant for temporary reduction of hazards.

In feedback for what the city could implement in their programming, residents in attendance of the event said they want more accessibility to resources, like blood testing, and information from officials about lead poisoning symptoms, hotlines for assistance, and updates on the reduction of lead in their communities.

Attendees also asked how they’d know where they are on the prioritization list and what would be done to address lead in the water found at several school sites in Oakland last year.

City staff said there will be a follow-up event to gather more community input for programming in August, with finalizations happening in the fall and a pilot launch in early 2026.

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Oakland Begins Month-Long Closure on Largest Homeless Encampment

At 8 a.m. sharp, city workers began piling up trash and dismantling makeshift homes along the nearly five-block encampment. City crews blocked off streets from 14th Ave to 17th Ave, between E. 12th and International Blvd, due to the Safe Work Zone Ordinance that was passed by the city council in 2022 to protect workers from harassment during cleanings, according to a city spokesperson.

Published

21 hours ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

The City of Oakland began sweeping their largest homeless encampment on E 12th St. Monday morning. Advocates claim that the city has not done its due diligence with providing ample resources or outreach for residents at the encampment. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

By Magaly Muñoz

The City of Oakland began a three-week-long breakdown of the largest homeless encampment in the city on E. 12th Street on Monday morning. Residents and advocates said they are devastated about the displacement of dozens of people.

Jaz Colibri, one of the many advocates at the closure, said the encampment sweeps were “intense and terrifying” to witness. They claimed that several residents, many of them non-English speakers, had not been aware that the sweep was happening that day because of a lack of proper communication and outreach from Oakland.

Colibri added that the city had done a Census “many months ago” and “had not bothered to count people since then”, meaning dozens of individuals have missed out on housing and resources in the last few weeks because the city doesn’t offer outreach in multiple languages.

“Basically, [Oakland] dropped the ball on actually getting to know everybody who lives here and then creating a housing solution that meets everyone’s needs,” Colibri said.

City spokesperson Jean Walsh told the Post that notices of the closure operation were posted in Spanish and Chinese prior to Monday, but did not clarify if outreach was done in those languages as well.

Nearly a dozen Oakland police vehicles, California Highway Patrol officers, and Oakland Public Works staff were gathered along E 12th waiting for residents to pack up their belongings and move away from the area.

Advocates said residents “felt unsafe” due to the hefty law enforcement presence.

One city worker, who was picking up debris near 16th Ave, said, “They’ve known we were coming for a long time now” in reference to resident confusion about the sweeping.

The state doubled down on its requirement to get cities and counties to deal with their homelessness crisis at a press conference Monday afternoon. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office released a “model ordinance” that is intended to provide a starting point that local municipalities can use to build from and adjust in creating their own policies on encampments, if they haven’t done so yet.

Newsom said “No more excuses, time to deliver” after the state has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into solving the issue.

Oakland was awarded a $7.2 million grant from the state in 2024 to close long-standing encampments in the city, including camps at Martin Luther King, Jr. and 23rd Street, and Mosswood Park.

Residents at these encampments were offered wraparound supportive services, temporary shelter, and eventually will be transitioned to permanent supportive housing, according to a city statement from last year.

Residents who accepted housing at these three encampments were moved into newly acquired property, formerly the Extended Stay America Hotel in West Oakland, which will first serve as interim housing for up to 150 individuals and couples in 105 units, and in the coming year, will be converted into 125 units of permanent housing.

Walsh said as of May 2, “32 residents of the recently closed Mosswood Park encampment moved into the Mandela House program” and as of May 12, “41 residents of the East 12th Street encampment have already accepted offers to move to the Mandela House.” The city will provide final numbers of how many accepted and moved into housing after the closure operation is over.