Oakland Finance & Management Committee – December 9, 2025
Oakland Finance & Management Committee Meeting – December 9, 2025
The Oakland City Council’s Finance and Management Committee met on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, starting at 9:30 AM. All four committee members were present: Councilmembers Brown, Unger, Wong, and Chair Ramachandran. The committee approved previous meeting minutes, scheduled outstanding items, and acted on six substantive items, including an audit of the Kids’ First Fund, salary schedule amendments, an IT software contract, the redevelopment agency’s Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule (ROPS), and an engineering services agreement. Several items were forwarded to the December 16, 2025 City Council meeting.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Draft Minutes (October 28, 2025 and November 18, 2025 special meeting) – Approved 4-0.
- Determination to Schedule Outstanding Committee Items (Pending List) – Approved 4-0.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Members of the public spoke on multiple items.
- Ms. Lassada raised concerns about the City of Oakland fully funding $700,000 for the 2025 World Cup, noting that the City of Alameda had already budgeted $150,000 and that other jurisdictions were expected to share the cost. She requested a report on how Oakland became solely responsible.
- David Boatwright (District 4) on the Kids’ First audit: questioned why the audit did not detail how funds were spent or who benefited, and noted that exhibits were cut off in the online version.
- Ms. Lassada on the audit: pointed out that the city did not always meet the 3% set-aside requirement, that corrections were not always accurate, that documentation was partial, and that staff expressed uncertainty about the requirements. She also highlighted the lack of a permanent Human Services director.
- Ms. Lassada on the minimum wage amendment: noted that California’s fast-food minimum wage is $25/hour and Oakland’s hotel minimum wage is $18.36 with health benefits or $24.48 without, arguing the proposed $20/hour for senior aides is still too low.
- Mr. Boatwright on item 6 (ROPS): questioned whether the $268.9 million outstanding debt is decreasing, and asked for more detailed information on how payments impact the city budget.
- Ms. Lassada on the ROPS report: asked about a $3.3 million bad debt that would not be reimbursed, and why a racial equity analysis was not conducted.
- Ms. Lassada on the engineering services contract (item 7): expressed concern that the contract allowed extensions “without returning to council,” particularly for homeless services, and asked whether landscaping and lighting maintenance includes trimming trees that block street lights.
- Two speakers in open forum: (1) A representative from Transport Oakland opposed moving parking policy from Transportation to Finance, arguing it should remain under the Department of Transportation established by Council. (2) Ms. Lassada repeated concerns about the World Cup funding and suggested that one person cannot oversee both Public Works and Transportation.
Discussion Items
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Item 3 – Audit of the Kids’ First Oakland Children’s Fund (FY 2018–19 through FY 2023–24)
- City Auditor Michael C. Houston presented the audit. Key findings: The city did not always meet the exact 3% set-aside requirement from unrestricted General Purpose Fund revenues; overpayments and underpayments occurred in different years. The audit recommended a one-time transfer of $203,973 from the Kids’ First Fund back to the General Purpose Fund. The city did meet or exceed the baseline spending requirement (≥5.35% of GPF expenditures) every year, with a high of $29.3 million over the minimum in FY 2023–24, largely due to Measure AA (Oakland Children’s Initiative) funds. The audit also recommended the Finance Department finalize formal guidance for set-asides and true-ups. The administration agreed with the recommendations.
- Council discussion centered on the complexity of percentage‑based budgeting, potential impacts on nonprofit providers, and the interaction between Measure AA’s non‑supplantation requirements and the baseline spending formula. Finance Director Brad Johnson clarified that the 3% set‑aside is exact, while the 5.35% baseline is a minimum; exceeding it does not violate the charter but may have service implications.
- The committee voted 4‑0 to receive and forward the item to the December 16 City Council consent agenda.
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Item 4 – Classification Plan Amendments and Salary Schedule Changes
- HR staff presented three actions: (a) increase the part‑time Senior Aid classification to $17.34/hour to comply with the 2026 minimum wage ordinance; (b) increase the Park Equipment Operator salary to align with Class A CDL requirements; and (c) create two new exempt administrator positions (Payroll Administrator and Procurement & Contracts Administrator) within the Finance Department.
- Chair Ramachandran proposed an amendment to raise the Senior Aid rate from $17.34 to $20.00/hour, arguing that minimum wage is insufficient and that a salary survey is unnecessary for such a small increase. Councilmember Wong seconded the amendment. HR Director Mary Howe noted the position is unrepresented but recommended a market survey before adjusting wages. After debate, the amendment carried.
- The committee also discussed labor relations: Councilmember Unger expressed concern that the new administrator positions were being created before meet‑and‑confer with affected unions about the planned centralization of payroll. Staff maintained that the structure itself is a management right, though impacts on represented employees would be subject to bargaining.
- The committee voted 4‑0 to approve the staff recommendations as amended (Senior Aid at $20/hour) and forward the legislation to the December 16 City Council meeting on non‑consent due to labor concerns.
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Item 5 – Waiver of Competitive Bid and Contract with HDL Software
- Staff requested a waiver of the competitive multi‑step solicitation and L/SLBE requirements to enter a new 5‑year, $1.67 million contract with HDL Software LLC for tax software technical support, maintenance, and printing/mailing services. The current contract expires January 2027; the new contract begins January 2026 to allow integration with a new citywide cashiering system.
- Councilmember Wong asked about integrating systems to help address nuisance businesses (e.g., human trafficking hotspots). Revenue & Tax Administrator Nicole Welch described a planned tip line and outreach (74,000 postcards to parcel owners) but noted a full Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is not yet in place.
- The committee voted 4‑0 to approve and forward to the December 16 consent agenda.
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Item 6 – Redevelopment Successor Agency ROPS and Administrative Budget (FY 2026–27)
- Brittany Hines reported outstanding obligations of $268.9 million as of November 1, 2025, with $33.8 million in enforceable obligations through FY 2026–27. A supplemental report will add line item 75 (Uptown Prop 1C grant interest). Most payments are debt service through 2041, plus $607,000 in administrative costs.
- No council questions; the committee voted 4‑0 to forward to the December 16 consent agenda.
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Item 7 – Engineering Services Contract with Francisco & Associates
- Jose Segura presented a resolution to authorize a 3‑year contract (with two 1‑year extensions) for engineering services for the Landscaping and Lighting Assessment District (LLAD) and other voter‑approved measures, total not to exceed $550,000. The annual fee (~$100,000) represents 0.05% of the ~$196 million in assessments generated. The RFP process found no certified L/SLBE firms qualified, so staff recommended striking the L/SLBE waiver language from the title and resolve clause.
- Councilmember Wong questioned why the county assessor could not perform the work; staff explained it is standard practice for municipalities to contract with certified engineers.
- The committee voted 4‑0 to approve as amended (removing the L/SLBE waiver references) and forward to the December 16 consent agenda.
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Item 8 – Withdrawn
- The information report on ratings for the GO Bond Series 2025 was withdrawn and rescheduled to January 27, 2026.
Key Outcomes
- All items passed unanimously (4‑0).
- Item 4 (Senior Aid salary) – Amended to raise the rate from $17.34 to $20.00/hour; forwarded on non‑consent.
- Item 7 (Engineering contract) – Amended to remove L/SLBE waiver language; forwarded on consent.
- Items 3, 5, 6 – Forwarded to December 16 City Council meeting on consent.
- Directive: Chair Ramachandran stated she will bring a request to the first Rules Committee of 2026 for an informational report on all city classifications earning under $25/hour, including whether positions are represented or unrepresented, to inform a potential expedited salary survey.
Meeting Transcript
Online speaker requests were due yes twenty-four hours prior to this meeting, making a time yesterday at nine thirty a.m. The meeting came to order at nine thirty. Speaker cards would no longer be accepted ten minutes after the meeting has begun, or if the item has been read into record, whichever comes first, making that time nine forty a.m. With that, we would now proceed to take roll. Councilmember Brown. Present. Councilmember Unger. Here. Councilmember Wong. Here. And Chair Ramachandran. Present. We have four members present. And before we begin, Chair, do you have any announcements for us today? Um, no announcements. Look, looking forward to getting through our seven items. And I believe this is the last committee of the year, so looking forward to this being productive. Thank you. Thank you for that. Yes, it is in the holiday spirit. We would start with our first item of the day, and that's approval of the draft minutes from the committee meetings that was held on October twenty-eighth, twenty twenty-five, and the special meeting that was held on November eighteenth, twenty twenty-five. We'll entertain a motion. I will move approval. Second. Thank you. We have a motion made by Councilmember Unger, seconded by Councilmember Brown to accept the draft minutes of the committee meetings of October 28, 2025, and the special meeting on November eighteenth, twenty twenty-five. As is on roll, Councilmember Brown. Aye. Councilmember Unger. And Councilmember Wong? Aye. And Chair Roma Chandren. Aye. This motion passes with four eyes to accept the draft minutes of the committee meetings on October twenty-eighth and November eighteenth, twenty twenty-five as is. Moving to item two, this is determination to schedule outstanding committee items. This is also known as your pending list. And we do have one speaker for this item. Thank you to the administration and changes. Okay, we can move to public speakers. Thank you. Calling our public speakers, Miss Asada. I'm calling for a report on the four hundred thousand dollars that was allocated for the World Cup. The reason being that in July of 2025, the Alamini City Council met and agreed to through the hotel transaction tax, to fund $150,000 for as a hundred and fifty thousand dollars. So you already had a hundred and fifty thousand dollars from the City of Alameda committed to the $700,000. And I'm gonna talk about this in open forum with more detail. But it looks like you took on the whole responsibility of funding for the World Cup, the $700,000, when it was written that Alamedia County, the City of Alameda, the City of Berkeley, and the City of Oakland, along with the Roots Organization, would be responsible for financing. And that didn't happen. So I need a report on how we got to fully fund everything when the City of Alameda already funded in July $150,000. So this trichology and this mismanagement that was identified and the uh grand jury reporting is this is one example. So we need a report on how we got to take the full responsibility for funding this.
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