Oakland Finance & Management Committee Meeting - March 10, 2026
Oakland Finance & Management Committee Meeting - March 10, 2026
The Oakland City Council Finance & Management Committee convened at 9:30 AM on March 10, 2026, with Chairperson Janani Ramachandran presiding and all four members present (Brown, Unger, Wang, Ramachandran). The committee heard two main informational reports: one on Measure Q oversight and another on OPD overtime spending, followed by open forum comments.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Draft Minutes (Feb 24, 2026): Motion by Brown, seconded by Unger, carried 4-0.
- Determination of Schedule of Outstanding Committee Items: Motion by Unger, seconded by Wang, carried 4-0 (no changes to pending list).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Measure Q (5 speakers): Brooke Levin (former public works director, co-chair of Measure Q) detailed that the extreme fiscal necessity clause was added without public discussion at the last moment in 2020, and no definition has ever been formalized. She stated the biennial audit is overdue (only one report in six years) and called for full funding of the city auditor. Mark Barish (chair of PRAC) echoed concerns about the lack of clear definition, the overdue audit, and reduced reporting frequency from monthly to five reports per year due to staffing shortages. A speaker from District 4 questioned whether Measure Q money had ever been used for the general fund. Another speaker criticized PRAC for overreach and noted no voice for the homeless under Measure Q.
- OPD Overtime (4 speakers): Kevin Daly suggested moving accident reporting to OakDot to reduce overtime. David Boatwright (District 4) asked why reimbursements go to the general fund instead of OPD's budget, and requested data on special events. A speaker flagged that one officer received $490,000 in overtime without clear records, and called for civilianization of 38 sworn positions and action on auditor recommendations.
Discussion Items
- Informational Report on Measure Q (Item 3): Finance Director Brad Johnson provided an oral response to Councilmember Unger's questions. He stated the city disagrees with the grand jury finding that there was no public discussion, noting that the council had active debate and staff reports accompany each declaration. On the biennial audit, he confirmed the city auditor's office is responsible and that a contract for a more detailed audit is in progress. Regarding defining "extreme fiscal necessity," Johnson said a working definition exists in the consolidated fiscal policy, but formalization is planned for fall 2026 after budget preparation. Councilmembers discussed expediting definitions before the mid-cycle budget, the status of the city auditor's recommendations, and questioned specific expenses (police salaries, capital projects, homelessness commission reporting). The item was received and filed on a motion by Unger, seconded by Brown, carried 4-0.
- OPD Overtime Report (Item 4): Laraja Marshall (Fiscal Services Manager) presented the FY 2025-26 second-quarter report. The adopted overtime budget was $33.6M (25% less than the previous year), with 615 sworn positions filled out of 678 authorized. Year-to-date overtime spending was $6.2M, $2.2M below the quarterly target. After factoring $7.5M in reimbursables and $17.3M in salary savings, the department projects an $8M under-spend (adjusted to ~$6M considering acting sworn costs). Chief Beer added that discretionary overtime was cut by 20% in November 2024, and that the department faces a 23% staffing reduction since 2009 while serving 53,000 more residents. A new digital tracking system (Telestaff) will be implemented in phases, with full rollout by December 2027. Councilmembers discussed the need for oversight, civilianization of positions, and reduction of administrative leave (from 38 to 18). Councilmember Ramachandran requested a supplemental report on the number of personnel exceeding overtime thresholds (16 hours/day, 60 hours/week) in the next quarterly report. The item was received and filed with that request, motion by Wang, seconded by Brown, carried 4-0.
Key Outcomes
- Measure Q Report: Received and filed. The committee will continue work on formal definitions for "extreme fiscal necessity" in fall 2026. The city auditor committed to launching the next biennial audit before end of FY 2025-26 and to publishing a semi-annual follow-up report on outstanding recommendations within the next week.
- OPD Overtime Report: Received and filed with a directive to staff to provide additional information in the next quarterly report on the number of personnel exceeding specific overtime thresholds (based on International Association of Chiefs of Police guidelines or OPD's own general order). The City Administrator acknowledged possible requests for Oracle system improvements to support the new Telestaff module.
- Open Forum: Two speakers raised concerns about unbudgeted overtime spending across all departments and requested a detailed report on homeless spending and allocation of funds from a proposed new parcel tax.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning and welcome to the Finance and Management Committee meeting of Tuesday, March 10th, 2026. The time is now 9 30 a.m. and this meeting may come to order. Before taking roll, I will provide instructions on how to submit speaker cards for items on this agenda. With us in chamber and would like to submit a speaker card, please fill one out and turn one into myself or a clerk representative no later than 10 minutes after the start of this meeting or before the item is read into record. Registering to speak via Zoom is now due 24 hours prior to the start of start of this meeting time. This meeting came to order at 9 30 a.m. and speaker cards will no longer be accepted ten minutes after, making that time 9 40 a.m. We'll now proceed with taking roll. Council members Brown. Present Councilmember Unger? Here. Councilmember Wong. Present. And Chair Ramachandran. Present. Thank you. We have four members present. Uh Chair, before we begin, do you have any announcements at this time? No announcements. We can go ahead. Okay. Thank you. Starting off with item one approval of the draft minutes from the committee meeting held on February 24, 2026, and there are no speakers on this item. Is there a motion? Move approval. Second. Thank you. That was a motion made by Councilmember Brown, seconded by Councilmember Unger to approve the draft minutes from the committee meeting on February 24th, 2026. On roll council members Brown. Aye. Unger. Aye. Wong? Aye. And Chair Ramachandran. Aye. Thank you. Item number one passes with four ayes to accept the draft minutes from February 4th, 2026. Reading in item two, determination of scheduled bystanding committee items, and we have one speaker that signed up for this item. Okay. At this time we have no changes to the pending list that I'm aware of. Okay. Um is there a motion? You have a you have a speaker. Um councilmember comments request? Okay. Then to the speaker. Okay. Mrs.
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