Oakland City Council Special Budget Meeting on FY 2026-27 Midcycle Budget – June 1, 2026

The Oakland City Council held a special concurrent meeting on Monday, June 1, 2026, from 9:10 AM to 12:43 PM to receive an informational report on the Mayor's Proposed Midcycle Budget for Fiscal Year 2026-27 and the Budget Advisory Commission (BAC) recommendations. The meeting featured presentations from Mayor Lee, Finance Director Brad Johnson, Acting City Administrator Betsy Lake, and BAC commissioners, followed by extensive council discussion and public testimony on budget priorities, structural deficits, and service restorations. Both agenda items were received and filed by unanimous votes (7-0-1, with Councilmember Unger excused).

Public Comments & Testimony

• Labor Union Members (Local 21): Multiple speakers, including Triva Hatton, Chase Fowler, Colin Petey, Noel (surname not given), Elliot Goodrich, and Cody Meschriger, expressed strong opposition to the city's proposed contract changes that would deny cost-of-living adjustments, increase healthcare/retirement contributions, and eliminate telework. They argued this constitutes bad-faith bargaining, reduces real pay, and worsens retention and morale. They urged the council to civilianize desk jobs within OPD to save money and put officers on the street, noting OPD overtime spending ($55 million) exceeds the paving budget. Several speakers said workers are considering striking.
• Affordable Housing Advocates: Over a dozen speakers (including David Amaral of All Home, Jack Woodruff of Rooted, Paul Schroeder of Unity Council, Ali Koshani, Matt Schreiber of Eden Housing, Darren Lowndes of HCEB, Carla Guerra of Unity Council, Alex Ragala of Midpen Housing, Tono Trachtenberg of Nonprofit Housing Association, Jeff Levin of East Bay Housing Organizations, and Tim Dunn of Mercy Housing) urged the council to allocate at least $50 million from the third tranche of Measure U bond funds for affordable housing construction and preservation. They emphasized that local matching funds are critical to leverage state and county resources (e.g., Home Key, tax credits, Measure W), that the current real estate market presents a unique opportunity with multifamily acquisition costs dropping from $400,000 to $100,000 per unit, and that without immediate allocation, pipeline projects will stall and homelessness will increase.
• Library and Animal Services Supporters: Mary Kane Simon and Chiazuma (District 6 resident) thanked the mayor for restoring full Measure C funding to libraries ($14.5 million general fund allocation) and emphasized libraries' role in community safety, education, and services. Kelsey Caldwell, a former Oakland Animal Services volunteer, urged adequate funding for the shelter, citing the recent Miranda's rescue scandal where dogs were sent to a fraudulent rescue that shot them.
• Other Speakers: Millie Cleveland (Coalition for Police Accountability) supported labor's call for civilianization and OPD overtime reform. Kevin Daly expressed support for keeping parking enforcement with DOT and restoring enforcement positions. Asada Olabala raised concerns about using Measure U funds for other purposes, OPD vehicle payments, and sanctuary city status. Carmen Salazar (in Spanish) criticized budget priorities and requested better translation services and lower parking fines.

Discussion Items

• Mayor's Proposed Midcycle Budget Presentation: Mayor Lee outlined a $2.27 billion total budget ($812.9 million general fund), balanced without using parcel tax revenue (Measure E not yet passed), with no layoffs. Key investments include: preserving sworn police and fire staffing, establishing a constitutional policing administrator to help exit the NSA, restoring illegal dumping cleanup, extending senior center hours to four days a week (9 AM–5 PM), reopening West Oakland Senior Center, restoring library branches and animal services, funding the mayor's summer jobs program, and increasing Measure U capital spending for street paving. The mayor noted that federal/state funding cuts (at least $24 million lost/delayed federal funds; $5 million state homelessness gap) and rising costs continue to strain the budget.

• Councilmember Questions and Debate:

  • Councilmember Houston asked about restoring senior center hours to five days (mayor confirmed current proposal is four days) and about environmental enforcement officer training for hazardous waste collection/prosecution. Public Works Director Liam Garland said the budget unfreezes one EEO position (from 7 to 8) and training will occur once vacancies are filled.
  • Councilmember Gallo criticized the use of franchise fees (estimated $36 million) not visibly returning to street cleaning, questioned the need for more administrators (constitutional policing advisor, mayor's office staff, city attorneys), and called for redeploying staff to field work. He also pressed for action on human trafficking and prostitution, particularly minors, and asked where cannabis tax money goes. Finance Director Johnson explained franchise fees fund the comprehensive cleanup fund (1720) for illegal dumping and street sweeping; cannabis business tax flows to the general fund, mostly for police and fire.
  • Councilmember Ramachandran raised concerns about 190 shelter bed closures if Measure E fails, frustration with slow county Measure W rollout, and requested transparency on homelessness funding and pit count data. Housing Director Emily Weinstein and Office of Homelessness Solutions director noted ongoing county negotiations, with Oakland seeking 64% of Measure W funds based on unsheltered population share (58% of county's unsheltered, 70% Black). Councilmember Fife echoed the need for more shelter beds and interim housing capacity.
  • Councilmember Brown asked about senior center hours (received clarification: four days, full-day operations), reallocation of $2 million in reserves for federal/state grant loss to urban search and rescue (USAR) and Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), ITD position freezes affecting cybersecurity, and transfer of parking positions from DOT to finance. IT director confirmed freezing an Information Systems Specialist III (cybersecurity/infrastructure) would hinder maturing cybersecurity operations.
  • Councilmember Wang questioned the justification for transferring 17 parking positions to finance, noting prior report lacked detail. She also raised concerns about enforcement of administrative citations (e.g., illegal dumping, traffic) and systemic lack of administrative capacity.
  • Councilmember Fife highlighted the need to fund the Office of Inspector General (OIG) as mandated by municipal code, rather than relying on a constitutional policing administrator (funded at $450,000) which duplicates OIG functions. She also expressed alarm about IT cybersecurity vulnerabilities post-2023 ransomware attack.
  • Councilmember Houston pressed for graffiti abatement staffing (only two painters currently, more in pipeline) and urged prosecution/deterrence rather than just abatement.
  • Councilmember Fife also asked about Department of Violence Prevention budget: $539,000 repurposed for ceasefire lifeline positions after losing a CalVIP grant; funding is one-time, and another federal grant for school VIP was canceled four months early.

• Budget Advisory Commission Presentation: Commissioners Ben Gould and Mike Petahoff presented the BAC report. Key short-term recommendations: fully fund voter-approved measures (Measure NN needs 700 sworn officers, currently budgeted for 678; Measure Q parks shortfall of $1.9 million); improve detail on $37 million in unidentified contracts/grants; reassess overestimated revenue projections (sales tax projected 12% growth despite recent declines, utility consumption tax projected $75 million but current year only $70 million). Long-term recommendations: develop a long-term needs assessment for assets (vehicles, facilities, IT), create a public dashboard for voter-approved measure spending, add age metrics to demographic data, improve performance metrics linked to outcomes (e.g., 911 response time vs. call volume), and explore synergy between economic development and public safety (e.g., retail leakage of $1.5 billion, workforce development, public safety ambassadors). Councilmembers expressed appreciation and noted some recommendations align with the city's fiscal roadmap.

Key Outcomes

• Item 4 (Informational Report on FY 2026-27 Mayor's Proposed Midcycle Budget): Motion by Councilmember Ramachandran, seconded by Councilmember Brown, to receive and file. Passed 7-0-1 (Councilmember Unger excused).
• Item 5 (Budget Advisory Commission Recommendations): Motion by Councilmember Wang, seconded by Councilmember Ramachandran, to receive and file. Passed 7-0-1 (Councilmember Unger excused).
• Deadlines for Budget Amendments: Councilmembers were informed that amendments for the June 12 budget adoption meeting must be submitted by Thursday, June 4, at 4:00 PM; for June 17 adoption, amendments due Monday, June 8, at noon; for June 30 final adoption (if needed), amendments due June 25 at 4:00 PM.
• Next Steps: The council will hold two more special budget meetings on June 12 and June 17, with final budget adoption required by June 30.