Oakland officials weigh options, possible cuts as city faces $130M budget deficit
There was little bit of good news in Oakland Monday as city leaders said they have found enough money in enough places that they can move that they can avoid officially declaring an emergency, at least for the time being. But that doesn't mean the crisis is over.
The focus now is on what and who might be cut.
"It definitely puts people on edge," said Julian Ware, Vice President of IFPTE Local 2. "Further compounded when you think, this is a holiday season. You're talking about two or three weeks out for Christmas."
A union leader, and an IT employee for the city of Oakland, Ware was among those who packed the City Council's discussion of the $130 million budget deficit.
"It really puts people on edge because it's sort of that uncertainty," he said. "What should I be doing right now? Should I be applying for a job somewhere else?"
The city is still weighing different options but still on the table are fire station brownouts, a freeze on police recruiting, and a host of cuts to smaller programs around the city.
"This does call for the elimination of the Ambassador Program," said Oakland City Administrator Jestin Johnson. "To the tune of $1.1 million."
Discussion of the looming cuts drew a crowd. More than 80 people signed up to speak about how different budget moves might affect residents.
"You took the parking enforcement technicians away from parking to deal with the issue of abandoned vehicles," one speaker told council members. "That's what you were using them for. So you take them away from abandoned vehicles and return them to parking, who is going to deal with these abandoned vehicles?"
"It's actually very sad. It just breaks my heart to see the budget crisis that we're going through right now," said Renia Webb. It doesn't have to be that way."
Webb watched the meeting as Oakland's newest official candidate for mayor. How to resolve the structural problems that produced the budget crisis will, no doubt, be a central discussion as Oakland tries to resolve its political uncertainty following the recall of Sheng Thao.
"With integrity," Webb said "With transparency. Using our tax dollars for they're intended purposes. To clean up our streets. To support our police."
And all of these questions will remain unanswered - for now. As the mayor's race takes shape, and the budget talks continue.
"All the vulnerabilities that people have during this period. It's incredibly unsettling," Ware said. "Especially since we've been discussing this for over a year."
The budget work will continue this week. On the 17th, the council will meet and declare the office of mayor vacant. The president of the council will become the interim mayor, kicking off a sequence that could mean four different mayors between now and April.
As for any possible job cuts, like those in the city's ambassador program, the city is currently working on a timeline for notices for those potential layoffs.
