Proposed Oakland Taxes Would Hire Back Cops
The City of Oakland is facing the grim reality of a smaller police force, at least for a few months. City officials are already meeting to figure out how to reverse the lay off of 80 cops.
In addition to those police jobs, 27 other positions were eliminated, including 21 police cadets who won't be hired out of the academy. The conventional wisdom has been that Oakland voters will need to approve a parcel tax this November to restore those jobs, but City Councilmember Jean Quan doesn't think that's a realistic answer.
"I think, given the economy, that that's not going to pass," said Quan.
Instead, she and the council are exploring other options such as taxing 911 service which would tax everybody, not just homeowners.
"A 911 tax would be something like $2 per month, per phone line," said Quan. Click to Listen
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Beyond any new taxes, voters would also need to amend Measure Y, an existing parcel tax, to restore 63 problem-solving officers to the neighborhoods.
"If the Measure Y amendment doesn't pass, and if people don't agree to any more taxes, then we might have to lay off another 100 officers," said Quan.
The president of the police union tells KCBS Oakland simply can't let that happen. He hopes to be part of the negotiation process with the council, to come up with a tax plan everyone can agree to support.
