Community
Revelations on How Police Salaries, Overtime Pay Tax Oakland’s Budget
At a time when Oakland is potentially facing a significant budget shortfall because of the pandemic and community demands to ‘defund’ the police, the cost of just two of the city’s 792 sworn officers raises questions about how city officials allocates the taxpayers’ money.
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Oakland police officer Malcolm Miller’s total pay and benefits was $640,736 last year, including $257,326 in overtime; another policeman, Timothy Dolan, earned $601,135, including $322,071 in overtime.
At a time when Oakland is potentially facing a significant budget shortfall because of the pandemic and community demands to ‘defund’ the police, the cost of just two of the city’s 792 sworn officers raises questions about how city officials allocates the taxpayers’ money.
But they are not alone. Salary information taken from the website “Transparent California,” a nonprofit agency that obtains employee salary data through the California Public Records Act (CPRA), reveals even more.
Of the nearly 5,933 employees who worked for the City of Oakland in 2019-2020, a total of 356 earned total salary benefits, plus overtime, in excess of $300,000. A total of 356 city employees earned salaries and benefits in excess of $300,000 – including 187 police officers and 137 Fire Department staff.
According to the CPRA, “the Legislature, mindful of the right of individuals to privacy, finds and declares that access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state.”
Upholding these provisions, a court ruled in a case in 2007 “that the names and salaries of public employees, including peace officers, are not exempt from public disclosure under the California Public Records Act.”
The administration over the years has taken the position that nothing much can be done to reduce police overtime or to hold overtime expenditures within budgeted spending levels.
But one recent mayor, the late Ron Dellums, was unafraid to go head-to-head with the Oakland Police Officers Association (OPOA) and in 2010 reduced overtime expenditures, keeping them within the budget.
When Dellums came into office, police management did not have the power to schedule officers without negotiating with OPOA. In practice, this meant that officers were scheduled Monday through Friday during the day. If they were needed to work on Friday and Saturday nights, and other times when there were greater public safety needs, they had to be paid overtime.
Earning the displeasure of the officers’ organization, Dellums and his police chief, Wayne Tucker, took the OPOA to arbitration and won changes in the way officers were scheduled for duty.
“They stood up to the OPOA,” said Kitty Kelly Epstein, a former staffer for Dellums. “Dellums and Tucker were determined to make a difference, and they did. This shows that a mayor and administration with backbone and commitment to the public can make a difference.”
At the same time that overtime went down, homicides fell by 40% under Dellums, indicating that costs can be reduced without sacrificing public safety.
A report from the City Auditor in 2019 found that the police department is unrealistic in the way it budgets for police overtime, that city policies are not being followed, and the “entire process is being poorly managed” according to a Channel 4News report on June 20, 2019.
“One of the things that stands out is how the overtime is clustered and that the auditor pointed out how there may be inappropriate self-dealing going on in terms of senior police officials who are in charge of designating overtime,” said Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan in the news report.
The city audit says one officer responsible for a lot of decision-making (was) the second highest overtime earner for …five fiscal years, and he consistently assigned himself to work many of the special events.
The audit also found that three sworn staff worked more than 70 days without a day off in violation of the department’s policies.
“We also identified instances in which OPD staff worked overtime when they were on paid leave such as sick, holiday, bereavement, military and family medical leave, in violation of the department’s policy,” the audit said.
Despite years of discussion about runaway overtime, controls are still lacking. “The department should review all situations when staff are working overtime, provide written authorization for exceptions, and implement appropriate management control to monitor when staff may work voluntary overtime and when staff may not work voluntary overtime,” the audit said.
Activism
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Lateefah Simon to Speak at Elihu Harris Lecture Series
The popular lecture series is co-produced by the Oakland-based Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Peralta Community College District. Jeffries’ appearance marks the 32nd lecture of the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, which has provided thousands of individuals with accessible, free, high-quality information.
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By Scott Horton
United States House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-8) will be a speaker at the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series on Friday, Feb. 21.
The event will be held at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts, 10 Tenth Street in Oakland, at 7 p.m.
The popular lecture series is co-produced by the Oakland-based Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Peralta Community College District. Jeffries’ appearance marks the 32nd lecture of the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, which has provided thousands of individuals with accessible, free, high-quality information.
The overarching goal of the lecture series is to provide speakers from diverse backgrounds a platform to offer their answers to Dr. King’s urgent question, which is also the title of Jeffries’ latest book: “Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community?”
In addition to Jeffries, Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) will also speak.
“Certainly, now is a time for humanity, in general, and Americans in particular to honestly and genuinely answer Dr. King’s question,” said Dr. Roy D. Wilson, Executive Director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Executive Producer of the lecture series.
“Dr. King teaches that time is neutral but not static. Like the water in a river, it arrives and then quickly moves on,” continued Wilson. “We must urgently create conditions for listening to many different answers to this vital question, and generate the development of unity of action among all those who struggle for a stronger democracy.”
In his book, Jeffries shares his experience of being unanimously elected by his colleagues as the first African American in history to ever hold the position of House Minority Leader.
In January 2023 in Washington, Jeffries made his first official speech as House Minority Leader. He affirmed Democratic values one letter of the alphabet at a time. His words and how he framed them as the alphabet caught the attention of Americans, and the speech was later turned into a book, The ABCs of Democracy, bringing Congressman Jeffries rousing speech to vivid, colorful life, including illustrations by Shaniya Carrington. The speech and book are inspiring and urgent as a timeless reminder of what it means to be a country with equal opportunities for all. Jeffries paints a road map for a brighter American future and warns of the perils of taking a different path.
Before his colleagues unanimously elected him Minority Leader in 2022, Jeffries previously served as Chair of the House Democratic Caucus and as an Impeachment Manager during the first Senate trial of the 45th President of the United States.
Jeffries was born in Brooklyn Hospital, raised in Crown Heights, grew up in the Cornerstone Baptist Church and he is a product of New York City’s public school system, graduating from Midwood High School. Jefferies went on to Binghamton University (BA), Georgetown University (master’s in public policy) and New York University (JD).
He served in the New York State Assembly from 2007 to 2012.
Admission is free for the Feb. 21 Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series featuring Congressman Jeffries. Please reserve seats by calling the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center at (510) 434-3988.
Signed copies of his book will be available for purchase at the event.
Alameda County
After Years of Working Remotely, Oakland Requires All City Employees to Return to Office by April 7
City Administrator Jestin Johnson recently told city unions that he is ending Oakland’s telecommuting program. The new policy will require employees to come to work at least four days a week. These new regulations go into effect on Feb. 18 for non-union department heads, assistant and deputy directors, managers, and supervisors. All other employees must be back at work by April 7.
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By Post Staff
The City Oakland is requiring all employees to return to the office, thereby ending the telecommuting policy established during the pandemic that has left some City Hall departments understaffed.
City Administrator Jestin Johnson recently told city unions that he is ending Oakland’s telecommuting program. The new policy will require employees to come to work at least four days a week.
These new regulations go into effect on Feb. 18 for non-union department heads, assistant and deputy directors, managers, and supervisors. All other employees must be back at work by April 7.
The administration may still grant the right to work remotely on a case-by-case basis.
In his memo to city unions, Johnson said former President Joe Biden had declared an end to the pandemic in September 2022, and that since then, “We have collectively moved into newer, safer health conditions.”
Johnson said “multiple departments” already have all their staff back in the office or workplace.
The City’s COVID-era policy, enacted in September 2021, was designed to reduce the spread of the debilitating and potentially fatal virus.
Many cities and companies across the country are now ending their pandemic-related remote work policies. Locally, mayoral candidate Loren Taylor in a press conference made the policy a central issue in his campaign for mayor.
City Hall reopened for in-person meetings two years ago, and the city’s decision to end remote work occurred before Taylor’s press conference.
At an endorsement meeting last Saturday of the John George Democratic Club, mayoral candidate Barbara Lee said she agreed that city workers should return to the job.
At the same time, she said, the city should allow employees time to readjust their lives, which were disrupted by the pandemic, and should recognize individual needs, taking care to maintain staff morale.
The John George club endorsed Lee for Mayor and Charlene Wang for City Council representative for District 2. The club also voted to take no position on the sales tax measure that will be on the April 15 ballot.
Activism
Actor, Philanthropist Blair Underwood Visits Bay Area, Kicks Off Literacy Program in ‘New Oakland’ Initiative
These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.
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By Paul Cobb
New Oakland Series
Opinion Part 3
The Post mentioned three weeks ago that a number of our local luminaries were coming together to support the “New Oakland” movement. As this current national administration continues to eliminate our “legacy” institutional policies and programs left and right, most communities find themselves beyond “frozen” in fear.
Well, esteemed actor, long-time Bay Area supporter, and philanthropist Blair Underwood returned to Oakland this week to speak with city leaders, community trust agents, students, the Oakland Post, and local celebrities alike to continue his “New Oakland” initiative.
This week, he kicked off his “Guess Who’s Coming to Read” literacy program in some of Oakland’s middle schools. Clifford Ray, who played the center position of the 1975 World Champion Golden State Warriors, donated close to 1,000 books. Ray’s fellow teammate Charles “The Hopper” Dudley also gave Converse sneakers to students.
These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.
Underwood also spent quality time with the Oakland Ballers ownership group and visited the amazing Raimondi Park West Oakland community revitalization site. In the 1996 TV film Soul of the Game, Underwood played the role of the legendary first Black Major League Baseball player Jackie Robinson and commended the Ballers owners.
“This group of sports enthusiasts/ philanthropists needs to be applauded for their human capital investment and their financial capital investment,” Underwood said. “Truly putting their money and passion to work,” Underwood said.
Underwood was also inspired by mayoral candidate Barbara Lee’s open-minded invitation to bring public-private partnership opportunities to Oakland.
Underwood said he wants to “reinforce the importance of ‘collaborative activism’ among those most marginalized by non-empathic leadership. We must ‘act out’ our discomfort with passionate intentions to create healthy change.”
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