OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Rules and Legislation Committee Meeting - January 8, 2026

City Council — Thursday, January 8, 2026
BodyOakland, California
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, January 8, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:27:02
Transcript — Verbatim
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Good morning and welcome to the Rules and Legislation Committee of Thursday, January

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8th.

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Before I call roll, I will go over speaker card instructions.

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you'd like to speak on any item on this agenda please pull out a speaker's card

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and return that card to a clerk representative before the item is called

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for discussion or 10 minutes after the start of this meeting this meeting

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started at 10 39 so your last opportunities turn in the speaker's card

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will be at 10 49 or before the item is called for discussion if you're looking

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to turn in an online speaker card that time has passed as they were due 24

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hours before the start of this meeting on roll we have councilmember

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Council member Brown present Council member Fyfe present Council member Ramachandran present and

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chair Jenkins present showing four members present at this time do you have any announcements before

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we begin happy new year everyone looking forward to a wonderful 2026 and working for the residents

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of Oakland let's get started starting with item two approval of the draft minutes from the meeting

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of December 4th and the meeting of December 11th I have no speakers on this

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item just need a motion

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move approval second on the motion by councilmember Rama Chandran second by

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councilmember five to approve the minutes were December 4th and December

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11th councilmember Brown I councilmember Fyfe I

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councilmember Rama Chandran aye and chair Jenkins aye motion passes with a vote of

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four eyes now moving on to item 3 which is all of the scheduling item new

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scheduling items starting with item 3.0 adopt a resolution authorizing the city

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administrator to negotiate and enter into a delegated maintenance agreement

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with a California Department of Transportation to include maintenance

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activities such as weed abatement litter and debris removal on specified

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Caltrans highway ramps and off ramps accepting and appropriating up to $375,000 from Caltrans

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in connection with the agreement and making appropriate CEQA findings. This is asked to

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go before the January 13, 2026 Public Works and Transportation Committee agenda.

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Going to item 3.1, adopt a resolution confirming the report and notice of liens for delinquent

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business taxes with penalties, interest, and administrative and assessment charges, and

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overruling any protests and objections related to the liens included in said report,

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and authorizing the recordation of liens and directing the notice of lien assessment

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charges be turned over to the county tax collector. This is asked to go before the January 20,

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2026 city council agenda as a public hearing the rule 24 request for this item is that it

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goes straight to council because it's a public hearing can we go back to item 3.80 is there

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somebody here from the mayor's office to give urgency finding morning uh preston kilgore

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deputy chief of staff to mayor barbara lee thank you council president um yeah so we are requesting

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an urgency finding um so this item can be heard by public works next tuesday and then the full

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Council the following week without delay this agreement as the clerk mentioned allows the city to immediately partner with Caltrans to address ongoing safety and cleanliness concerns on state highway on and off ramps including weed abatement litter and debris removal.

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Advancing this item on expedited timeline ensures the city can begin this work as soon as possible and also accept the available funding of the looking forward to working with you all to advance item. Thank you.

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It sounds good. If it pleases somebody,

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I'd be like to be added as a co-sponsor to this.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety███████████████████████████████31%
Procedural████████████████████20%
Homelessness████████8%
Personnel Matters███████7%
Fiscal Sustainability██████6%
Youth Programs██████6%
Racial Equity█████5%
Mental Health Awareness█████5%
Engineering And Infrastructure███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Rules and Legislation Committee Meeting - January 8, 2026

The Oakland City Council Rules and Legislation Committee met on Thursday, January 8, 2026, starting at 10:39 AM, with all four members present. The committee considered a series of scheduling items, reviewed draft committee agendas, received a report on the proposed 2026 state and federal legislative agenda, and acted on mayoral appointments to the Oakland Police Commission. Several items required urgency findings and date changes due to impacted calendars.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes: The committee unanimously approved the draft minutes from the meetings of December 4, 2025, and December 11, 2025, on a 4-0 vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Blair Beekman (public comment on item 3.2 and 3.5) expressed support for accepting the Police Commission Selection Panel's slate of nominees, noting a more integrated community process in Oakland over the past year. He also commended the citywide strategic plan update and emphasized that declining crime rates are the result of multiple programs working together.
  • Rajni Mondal (District 4, on item 3.2) urged the committee to focus on process integrity rather than personalities regarding the police commission nominations, stating the same names were resubmitted without a materially different recruitment or vetting process. On item 3.11 (Skelly hearings), she provided facts from an OPD report: 46 discipline cases awaiting Skelly hearings involving 64 officers, with 18 trained hearing officers available, and noted that the backlog has been declining due to process improvements in late 2024. She asked that future reports separate investigation delays from Skelly delays.
  • Sequoia Hall (Chief of Staff, Roots Community Health, on item 5) thanked the committee for prioritizing youth, specifically the Young People's Wellness Center in East Oakland, which raised $2.3 million for construction. She requested a $5 million investment to fully staff and open the center to serve over 500 youth annually.
  • Rajni Mondal (on item 6) commended the mayor's selections for the police commission and urged the city attorney to provide a parliamentarian for police commission meetings to restore procedural discipline.
  • Blair Beekman (on item 6 and open forum) spoke about the need for inclusive community voice in public process, transparency in urgency findings, and a balanced approach to public safety.

Discussion Items

  • Item 3 – Scheduling Items: The committee reviewed 16 scheduling items (3.0 through 3.15). Key actions included:
    • 3.0: Adopted a resolution for a maintenance agreement with Caltrans (up to $375,000) and granted an urgency finding to expedite consideration. Council President Jenkins added as co-sponsor.
    • 3.2: Two alternative resolutions regarding the police commission selection panel slate (accept or reject). Moved to January 20 City Council on non-consent. Councilmember Ramachandran noted she would submit questions.
    • 3.3: Reappointments to the Library Commission advanced under rule 24.
    • 3.4: Early care and education emergency grant (up to $500,000) advanced due to January 23 application deadline.
    • 3.5: Citywide strategic plan six-month update rescheduled from January 27 to February 10 Finance and Management Committee.
    • 3.7: Department of Race and Equity report moved from Finance to Life Enrichment Committee, scheduled for February 24.
    • 3.8: Title change for Fire Station 4 project (total contract increased from $1.5M to $4.2M). Moved to January 27 Public Works.
    • 3.11: OPD Skelly hearings report moved to February 24 Public Safety Committee.
    • 3.12: Newspaper of record report to be presented as an oral report on February 10 Life Enrichment.
    • 3.15: Salary survey report rescheduled to March 24 Finance and Management Committee.
  • Item 4 – Review of Draft Agendas & Pending List: The committee adjusted several committee meeting dates. January 13 Community and Economic Development (CED) committee was cancelled; its item 1 (anti-displacement strategic action plan) moved to January 27. January 13 Public Works item 4 (Measure DD grant) moved to February 10. January 13 Public Safety committee meeting was rescheduled from 6:00 PM to 1:30 PM as a special meeting.
  • Item 5 – 2026 State and Federal Legislative Agenda: Nicolo De Luca, representing the city’s legislative team, presented the 13-page report outlining top priorities: addressing homelessness, illegal dumping/blight, public safety, and economic inclusion. Councilmembers discussed partnering with OUSD on school safety, the state budget timeline (governor’s budget due January 9, May revise, final adoption by June 15), and the role of the Sacramento delegation. The report was received and filed unanimously.
  • Item 6 – Police Commission Appointments: The committee considered the mayor's appointment of Evalio Griot and Douglas Wong to the Oakland Police Commission. An urgency finding was presented to ensure continuity of operations. Background checks were confirmed to be completed before City Council consideration. Douglas Wong spoke, emphasizing constitutional policing and collaboration. Councilmember Ramachandran asked about his views on council-commission relations; Mr. Wong stressed working with facts and compromise. A technical amendment corrected term dates (October 12 to October 17) and a name (Regina Jackson to Brenda Harbin-Forte). The amended resolution was approved unanimously to go to the January 20 City Council on consent.

Key Outcomes

  • Vote 4-0: Approved minutes of December 4 and 11.
  • Vote 4-0: Approved all scheduling items as amended (including urgency findings for 3.0, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, and date changes for 3.5, 3.7, 3.11, 3.12, 3.15, and title changes for 3.8, 3.15).
  • Vote 4-0: Approved item 4 (agenda and pending list revisions) as amended.
  • Vote 4-0: Received and filed the 2026 legislative agenda report (item 5).
  • Vote 4-0: Approved urgency finding and resolution confirming police commission appointments (item 6), with technical amendment, to be forwarded to January 20 City Council on consent.
  • Directive: Mayor's staff to provide corrected legislation to the clerk's office by 4:00 PM on January 8.
  • Referral: Public Safety Committee meeting on January 13 rescheduled to 1:30 PM; CED committee cancelled.

Meeting Transcript

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Good morning and welcome to the Rules and Legislation Committee of Thursday, January 8th. Before I call roll, I will go over speaker card instructions. you'd like to speak on any item on this agenda please pull out a speaker's card and return that card to a clerk representative before the item is called for discussion or 10 minutes after the start of this meeting this meeting started at 10 39 so your last opportunities turn in the speaker's card will be at 10 49 or before the item is called for discussion if you're looking to turn in an online speaker card that time has passed as they were due 24 hours before the start of this meeting on roll we have councilmember Council member Brown present Council member Fyfe present Council member Ramachandran present and chair Jenkins present showing four members present at this time do you have any announcements before we begin happy new year everyone looking forward to a wonderful 2026 and working for the residents of Oakland let's get started starting with item two approval of the draft minutes from the meeting of December 4th and the meeting of December 11th I have no speakers on this item just need a motion move approval second on the motion by councilmember Rama Chandran second by councilmember five to approve the minutes were December 4th and December 11th councilmember Brown I councilmember Fyfe I councilmember Rama Chandran aye and chair Jenkins aye motion passes with a vote of four eyes now moving on to item 3 which is all of the scheduling item new scheduling items starting with item 3.0 adopt a resolution authorizing the city administrator to negotiate and enter into a delegated maintenance agreement with a California Department of Transportation to include maintenance activities such as weed abatement litter and debris removal on specified Caltrans highway ramps and off ramps accepting and appropriating up to $375,000 from Caltrans in connection with the agreement and making appropriate CEQA findings. This is asked to go before the January 13, 2026 Public Works and Transportation Committee agenda. Going to item 3.1, adopt a resolution confirming the report and notice of liens for delinquent business taxes with penalties, interest, and administrative and assessment charges, and overruling any protests and objections related to the liens included in said report, and authorizing the recordation of liens and directing the notice of lien assessment

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