How And so, you know.

Good afternoon, and welcome to the special council meeting of the city council of Friday, June twelfth, twenty twenty six.

Before I call roll, I will um allow the uh translator to give instructions in Spanish.

As this meeting will be uh translated in Spanish, you can ask that access translation through Zoom.

So if you're la reunion special de hoy del Ayuntamiento de Oakland va a tener servicios de interpretación simultanea in espanhol.

But acceder al canal in espanhol, ustedes pueden identificar el icono del globo terraqueo que está in la parte de abajo de su pantalla de Zoom.

A click in this icono y después elija el idioma de su preferencia, Spanish o Espanyol.

Si están ustedes in su teléfono móvil or in una tableta, localizing los tres puntitos que stand generally in the parte inferior or superior derecha de su pantalla de Zoom.

Again, click all you click in losicios de interpretación y otro click para elegir el idioma Spanish or Espanyol.

No olviden hacer clic in don or listo para empezar la interpretación in espanhol.

Le recommendamos que pongan el audio principal bajo para poder escuchar solamente la reunión in Spaniel.

Muchas gracias.

Back to you.

Thank you so much.

I will give speaker card instruction.

I'm sorry, I will call role before I give speaker card instructions.

Councilmember Brown.

Present.

Councilmember Five.

Present.

Council Member Gaio.

Present.

Council Member Houston is excused.

Council Member Unger.

Present.

Council Member Wong.

Present.

Council President Jenkins.

Present.

And Council Member Ramachanjan who will be chairing this meeting.

Present.

Showing seven members present at this time.

I will now give speaker card instructions.

If you'd like to speak on any item on this agenda, you must fill out a speaker's card.

You can do so by getting a card from the front table before the item is called or two hours after the start of this meeting.

This meeting was called to order at 1209.

So the last opportunity to turn into a speaker card will be at 209.

Or if the item is called, whichever comes first.

If you're looking to turn in online speaker card, that time has passed as they were due 24 hours before the start of this meeting.

And to Chair Ramachandran, do you have any announcements before we begin?

Thank you.

Yes, um, we will be taking items four and five together, which means if you signed up for both items, you will get to speak on both of those items at the same time.

And given the volume of speaker cards today and our need to maintain quorum, we'll be limiting public comment on each item to one minute.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Going to item three, which is modifications to the agenda.

I don't believe there are any as you've already announced taking items for Madam Clark.

The only clarification to the parliamentarian is needing to vote on item five before item four, correct?

Through the chair.

Yes, that's correct.

The council will the items will be as the um presiding officer said the items will be heard together and discussed together.

Public comment will be taken together.

Uh, but our recommendation is for the council to still adopt the items with two separate motions and to adopt the resolution regarding extreme fiscal necessity first before adopting the budget resolution.

Okay, thank you.

No further announcements.

Going to the agenda items reading item four and five together.

I will read item four first.

Adopt a resolution adopting the mid-cycle budget for fiscal year 26 through 27 and appropriating funds and revenues to cover expenditures approved by said budget and authorizing the city administrator to transfer funds between departments, programs and funds as necessary to support operations as set forth in the adopted policy budget for fiscal years twenty-six through twenty-seven, and authorizing all actions necessary to apply for accept and appropriate additional funds required to advance and complete the projects identified in the capital improvement program, provided that such acceptance is consistent with and does not otherwise negatively impact the city's capital improvement program, and authorizing the city administrator to accept an appropriate future settlement proceeds received by the city and authorizing the city administrator to accept and appropriate future issuance in issuance recoveries proceeded.

I'm sorry, proceeds received by the city for repair of the replacement of damaged assets and authorizing the city administrator to appropriate funds as necessary to satisfy legally required payments or payments related to unfunded liability and declaring a state of extreme fiscal necessity and the existence of a severe, excuse me, severe and unanticipated financial event and suspending the fiscal years 26 through 27.

The charter mandated minimum staffing budget set aside for Public Ethics Commission and suspending the minimum budget set aside for Democracy Dollars Fund and for non-staff costs related to the Public Ethics Commission's administration of the Oakland Federal Elections Action Democracy Dollars Program.

That is item four, reading in item five as well.

Adopt a resolution authorizing the use of one-time revenues to balance the fiscal year 26 through 27, midcycle budget pursuant to Section 1 Part D of the City of Oakland Consolidated Fiscal Policy, declaring the state of extreme fiscal necessity and the existence of severe and unanticipated financial event that has adversely impacted the general purpose funds such that the city is unable to budget at the required minimum number of 700 sworn police personnel pursuant to the Oakland Community Violence and Emergency Response Act of 2024, declaring the state of extreme fiscal necessity to provide for the temporary suspension of the park maintenance maintenance of efforts requirement pursuant to the 2020 Oakland Parks and Recreation Preservation Bladder Reduction and Homelessness Support Act, declaring a state of extreme fiscal necessity for the midcycle budget, allowing for the minimum budget set aside for public campaign financing to be suspended pursuance to the Oakland Fair Elections Act, declaring the state of extreme fiscal necessity for the mid-sycle budget and temporary temporarily suspending the requirement to consider advisory board recommendations prior to appropriating sugar sweetened beverage tax revenue, declaring the state of extreme fiscal necessity for the mid-cycle budget authorizing the use of funds deposited into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to balance the fiscal years 26 through 27 mid-cycle budget establishing the attention of the city council to prior to prioritize restoration of services to meet the maintenance of effort requirements, and you have a number of speakers across both items.

Thank you.

We will start today with a presentation of item five.

Sorry, from of item four.

Then we'll move to public comment and then begin with council discussion.

Thank you.

If KTA could kindly pull up the budget team PowerPoint.

Alright, thank you so much, everyone, for being here today.

We are here to discuss and amendments to the fiscal year 2026-27 mid-cycle budget amendments.

On behalf of the budget team, which is myself, Council President Jenkins, Council Member Brown, and Councilmember Unger, we are proud to put forward a set of amendments today that really prioritize two core things.

Our first priority continues to remain the delivery of basic fundamental city services.

This includes, but not limited to public safety, police fire violence prevention, illegal dumping and clean streets, reducing homelessness, revitalizing our economy, and improving our parks.

Now we are a city that has many incredible number of strengths as well as an incredible number of challenges.

These challenges did not arise overnight over the course of the years, but we are here today to do what we can to prioritize these services with limited resources.

And on that note, we want to accomplish these goals with a sense of fiscal responsibility.

Now, there's a couple of key things that our amendments do to make sure that we are staying the course and in some ways reversing some of the actions of past years in City Hall by making improvements to the way we conduct our business.

And one of the core elements of that is not using anticipated one-time money to fund recurring expenses.

And that is precisely what this our set of budget amendments proposes to do.

So in our general purpose fund, we have extremely limited dollars, and we do not have stable recurring sources of extra money that we can fund new positions and new programs.

So what you will see in our amendments are a series of creative, we will call it one-time expenditures that use existing funds to fund resources in a one-time way.

By that I mean in the course of this one year, the current fiscal year, the budget we're trying to pass is only FY2627.

We are using one-time revenues to fund one-time expenses that addresses our core issues of public safety, parks, reducing homelessness, among other things.

I'll talk about this a little later, but so in one of the items that's presented, you will see a number of uh declarations of fiscal necessity.

Um, six of them are for voter-approved ballot measures.

I am very proud to say that between the mayor's proposed budget and the amendments we've made, we are now in compliance with four out of six of those voter-approved measures.

Measures C, D, X, and Q.

What we have what we are not yet in compliance with as far as voter-approved measures go, are measures N and Measure N and W, and we will get to that in a second.

So, point number three on why our amendments portray a sense of fiscal responsibility while maintaining a commitment of core services.

We're keeping reserves.

We know that in the current federal climate that we're in, anything can happen at any time, and our city relies quite heavily on many different funding sources on federal and state money.

So we've set aside some dollars in case some of this federal and state money go on a whim, which we know in this climate can happen at any time.

We've also set aside funds and our fund balance in case our revenues projected don't necessarily always match up.

Our economy is a little unpredictable these days and volatile, and as much as our finance department has done an incredible job in thinking about ways to accurately predict our revenues and expenditures, anything can happen at any time, and we want to be prepared with a little bit of reserves in case our revenues don't quite match up to what we had anticipated.

And finally, we have a new line item in our general fund expenditures for beginning the process of paying down some of our long-term liabilities that we have for post-employment benefits.

So I want to express deep gratitude firstly to the mayor, the mayor's office, the city administrator, the finance department, the city attorney, the city clerk, everyone who put their blood, sweat, and tears into putting forward an initial proposal that council had the opportunity to read.

It's no easy task balancing a budget, and I want to be very clear that the proposed budget that the mayor foot put forward did not include a single penny of Measure E and anticipated revenue.

So this budget, both the budget that Mayor Lee had put forward at council, as well as these set of amendments we're going to be looking at today, does not utilize a single dollar of a measure E money or any anticipated future ballot measure money.

This is working, quite frankly, with what we have right now, which is not a lot, but what we have, we're trying to spend in an efficient way to deliver services for the residents.

And by that I mean not every service.

We don't have the money to fund every service, but on top of this budget, I just want to be clear that we are working very hard to figure out ways to partner with philanthropy, with corporations, with the county, with the state and federal government to deliver dollars to the city of Oakland, which is all which is often missed out on a critical share of that economic pie.

We're grateful to the mayor's office and all of our residents that participated in community budget education forums, folks that submitted their feedback.

We've taken countless meetings and engaged with stakeholders to get a sense of priorities, priorities under with the understanding of limited dollars, and we're grateful for everyone who's taken part of this process.

So again, starting off with the mayor's proposed budget, just a couple of points on the things we really appreciated with the starting point that we were presented on.

First and foremost, like I mentioned, it was a balanced budget proposal that in many ways was a stay the same budget.

Pretty much everything that was funded in the biennial cycle budget last year continues to remain funded, and there were the addition of a few extra services that we're grateful for.

The proposed budget did not proffer any layoffs, and included an improved commitment to actually go after and capture revenue that has that is and continues to be owed to the city.

So I want to note a couple of things because we're only talking about amendments to about $72 million of our budget, which is funds that we're putting forward in our council budget team amendments.

Our entire budget is a lot more than that.

So the various things that the mayor put forward, I just want to take a moment to acknowledge her investments into constitutional policing, the creation of a new fire department ambulance program, recruitment, improved recruitment efforts for sworn officers, the funding of an OPD cadet program, slightly increased funding for both ceasefire and macro, increased funding for illegal dumping.

This includes environmental enforcement officers, more funds for Keep Oakland Beautiful, overtime for public works employees who address dumping, as well as enforcement related operation for those who try to make our city dirty.

We appreciate the investments of a couple of extra auditors, extra code enforcement officers, additional funds for IT services, the reopening of a few extra of an extra day of senior centers, more funding for staff that work in our Oakland Animal Services, additional funding for libraries, and the very exciting reinstatement of our summer youth program.

So now moving to our amendments, which have been published and are in front of you today.

Where do we get this 72 million dollars of money from that we're talking about?

Firstly, $50 million of that is a bond sale, and that's measure you dollars going towards affordable housing that we'll talk about later.

The rest of the approximately 22 million dollars come from a predicted increased revenue collections, particularly in parking enforcement, and increase increased revenue in the form of salary savings.

Now we have to admit the very uncomfortable truth that the City of Oakland has over 700 positions that are fully funded and not yet hired.

And we have policy directives, and it may it continues to be a focus of I think everyone on this council and in on this dias to address hiring efforts, but with the status quo of where we are now is that we have over 700 funded vacant positions where we are able to collect a little bit of additional salary savings from on top of what's already been put forward in the budget.

Final source of funding is fund balances.

Again, a fund balance is not a recurring source of revenue, it is typically one-time money, so we are spending it in a one-time manner.

So I want to briefly talk about how we are addressing some of the most critical elements of measure E in this budget.

Measure E didn't pass, and there were several elements of Measure E that went towards one-time capital expenditures.

And our budget is not able to include all of those capital one-time expenditures, but we were able to incorporate about $2.4 million for new fire trucks, $2.4 million for emergency temporary shelter beds, and $900,000 for improved vehicles to address illegal dumping.

And now moving to the rest of our amendments topic by topic.

And as a note, each of these items are in our budget memo and in the budget spreadsheet that has been posted on Legistar.

They all come from different funding sources.

We have a very complicated maze of funding sources.

1010 is our general purpose fund, which council has often a little more leeway over compared to the others.

There are other funding sources that are specifically earmarked for certain purposes.

So a lot of these things come from different measures, and you can see all the details of that in our amendment spreadsheet.

So again, these are all of what we are adding to on top of what the mayor already put forward in our biannual budget.

First, half a million dollars for interdepartmental downtown and Lake Merit public safety programs, to $250,000 of additional funding for our community safety ambassadors program, which already had a historic investment of $2.00 million in the biennial budget last year.

We are also transferring one civilian position to be released back to the streets and therefore continuing our process of civilianization as a sworn officer need not necessarily do public information roles and may better have a use of their time being returned to the streets as a sworn officer.

More public safety, like I mentioned, we're adding $2.36 million to replace two fire engines and gross disrepair.

This is addressing some of the concerns that has been talked about before with all of our fire stations are funded and open, but some of the equipment is so bad that it risks the efficiency and ability for fire departments to continue if we don't start replacing some of the most some of the engines in the most disrepair.

We're adding $300,000 for community wildfire risk assessments working with workforce development nonprofits in Oakland.

Funding clean streets.

We're adding $900,000.

Again, this was a line item from Measure E that we pulled to replace outdated equipment to support illegal dumping crews.

We're adding half a million dollars for graffiti removal efforts.

We are unfreezing one project manager related to these efforts.

We are addressing towing vehicles, towing with a $300,000 investment for a towing blitz.

Safe streets.

We're adding half a million dollars to implement a solar street lighting program that helps with public safety efforts as well, and as well as adding three electricians to work on critical street light maintenance.

We're also addressing traffic calming by adding half a million dollars to speed up implementation of existing neighborhood traffic safety projects, adding a DOT project manager, and funding a million dollars for speed camera program management across departments.

When it comes to homelessness services, we know that our homelessness crisis cannot be fixed overnight, and we do also know that in the course of the last few years of funding cuts, there have been some critical safety net programs that have gone away.

So we're reinstating and restoring $2.4 million for emergency temporary shelter beds, which would go out to an RFQ process to determine specific vendors and all that, but reinstating that funding that was previously lost.

We're also adding half a million dollars for emergency hotel vouchers for unhoused residents with a priority for families in need, and we're also adding 1.2 million for safe parking programs for those who might live in their vehicles and need a safe place to park.

We are also funding affordable housing by moving $50 million of Measure U bonds in what was considered tranche 3.

We're moving that up forward to be able to improve funding for affordable housing this year itself.

Parks and public spaces, and most of these line items address our spending in Measure Q, which I had mentioned earlier.

We are, we once if these measures are approved, we would be in compliance with measure Q this year and no longer need a declaration of fiscal necessity.

So again, through primarily Measure Q dollars, we're funding almost a million for bathroom upgrades and parks, almost a million dollars for park tree pruning and vegetation management, about half about a million dollars for trash and illegal dumping removal at parks, about $300,000 for park fencing upgrades, $250 for stormwater management, $250 for new public bathroom facilities, and $50,000 for Measure Q evaluation.

Funding health and accessibility.

We have heard from the community how our water fountains in many of our OUSD public schools are failing, and that no child deserves to be drinking water that's completely unsafe in their in a safe environment, which should be their schools.

So we're giving a quarter million dollar grant to OUSD to help replace safe and hygienic water drinking facilities.

And we're also funding about quarter million dollars for Wi-Fi improvements in senior centers and rec centers that are in desperate need of some upgrades.

Funding arts and culture, we are restoring and adding 150,000 to the Cultural Affairs Division, as well as 250,000 for the film incentive program, and this doubles what the mayor had previously put in, originally put into the budget.

So now our film incentive program is half a million dollars.

And understanding this program, we this is this is a drop in the bucket for what we need to have a real thriving film incentive program, understandably, but we hope that this is one of many steps that can really help our incredible talent here in Oakland be able to use film and the arts as an economic engine.

Um hiring efforts.

We just talked about we have in our budget over 700 funded vacant positions, and we want to add some funding to help HR be able to adequately hire.

Now the mayor's budget already proffers some of these additions and improvements to HR and the funding of certain positions focusing on the streamlining.

We're adding on top of that by funding money for a staff compensation survey, like a comparing what folks make in Oakland versus comparable cities to make sure we stay competitive, as well as adding a quarter million dollars for a vacancy strike force that was previously budgeted a couple of years ago but removed due to funding cuts.

Going back to fiscal responsibility, we're not just talking about it, we're putting money towards it as well.

We're adding a million dollars for reserves instead of in case of federal or state grant cuts.

We're also adding a million dollars to pay down post-employment pension liabilities.

And then there's a few recommendations that came from our finance department, largely as Irata, and they can um detail that um if needed, and they come from other fund balances, not the general funds.

Um again, just restating that if these amendments are approved on top of the mayor's budget, we will be in compliance with four measures that we were not in compliance with last year.

C D, Q and X, Measure N N and W, we are not yet N.

The largest reason we are not in compliant yet is because is not necessarily due to just a funding issue, but our inability to hire.

We currently have almost 75 officers, I believe, that are funded but not yet hired.

We need to get to those numbers through the academies that we've funded before we're able to fund even more to actually be on the streets.

Um, and measure W is democracy dollars.

We have not been able to identify yet an ongoing five million-ish dollar source of revenue to be able to fund that program.

But um, as part of the city's efforts to address our long-term fiscal health, our finance department last year as well, along with some external consultants have presented a very thorough roadmap to be able to address all of our voter-approved measures and council authorized measures in the next few years.

And we look forward to engaging in that process as well.

And I will pass it to council president to talk about policy directives.

Thank you, Councilmember Ramachandran, and if everybody has this sheet, it should be available on the desk.

These are policy directives and what we try to do was combine policy directives that were published in the agenda, but first I would be remiss if we're talking about film incentives if I don't credit council member for being a pioneer in championing film incentives.

And so I once who say publicly thank you for leading the way on that, and it speaks because of you that you are the inspiration behind this.

So I just want to publicly say thank you for that.

So on the mid-cycle policy directives, we have them broken down into a couple of the categories, housing and homelessness.

The idea behind the city of one city of administration to develop and coordinate a plan for housing resource centers.

It is inhumane how we deal with our unhoused relatives in the city of Oakland and Alameda County, and poor coordination between city and county shouldn't be a reason as to why folks don't have resources in one of the wealthier counties in Alam in the state of California.

And so better resources and alignment would definitely be helpful.

And so I know the city administrator is going to have some proposed changes to language and interested in seeing that.

Implementation and transparency for the incamp in abatement policy.

This is a huge policy that took a lot of time that's going to need to be worked on and redefined, and council is going to need consistent updates from the Office of Housing Solutions, homelessness solutions, and the administration, and so we want consistent updates.

Financial and personnel management.

So the finance department, structural deficit, analysts, and budgeting, right?

So we want to know how Oakland is going to fare 50 years from now.

How the structural deficit will how we are addressing the structural deficit, right?

So without getting too nuanced, we want to ensure that the there's transparency with the public and that we have a plan to ensure that Oakland is physically solvent now and 50 years in the future.

We do not want to pass on debt to future generations.

So we understand that our workers here in Oakland work very diligently and hard, and I know they take a lot of hits in the media, and we have to acknowledge some might be underpaid, and the survey will help us get to what is the correct pay.

Eligibility lists.

So the city attorney directs the city administrator to coordinate with human resources to explore a process that allows for departments the ability to seek and reactivate an eligibility list no later than 45 days after a list has expired.

So we want to ensure that we're hiring faster.

There's been too many reports on Oakland has this many um positions available, and we know that people are desperately in need.

The mayor did a uh job fair outside, and I was just amazed with the amount of people that attended, and so we have to get better with that.

Communications, public communications of city services.

I think our teams do a great job, but we have to get to the next generation of folks and getting information to different generations.

I know my mom uses Facebook, I use Instagram.

There's other people that use TikToks, TikTok, and so we need to modernize the way that we are communicating with the residents and so that we can residents can be informed of what's going on.

And I want to specifically read that.

Um the plan shall include ensuring every department has a dedicated public information officer, and so we really want to make sure that our public is informed of everything that is going on, and we have to try our hardest to get to them.

City marketing plan, and I know there's been council members talking about this for some time, our city isn't marketed very well, or our city is marketed well, but it's marketed in negativity, and so we have to fight back against that negativity, right?

Um, New York is marketed well, Las Vegas is marketed well, LA is marketed well, and so we have to work with outside consultants to ensure that we market this crown jewel of the East Bay like it is council office communications.

So the city administrator shall also develop a standard communication protocol for departments to update council offices on major projects and initiatives in their respective district.

I talked to somebody from the administration today.

Hey, there was something major that went on in my district, and I expect updates, and so this is so that we can get the information out to our constituents and we can have a firm understanding of what's going on.

So restoring morale and pride and creating an Oakland walk of fame.

I think this is absolutely excellent.

We have so many people that have done amazing things that come from Oakland, and we have to figure out a way to honor them without beyond street renamings, beyond a commendation from council, and I think a walk of fame will ensure that the work that they've done and the product that they brought back to Oakland will live on forever.

Public safety and cleanliness.

So the Office of the Inspector General's staff and compliance.

So we want to make sure that we are in compliance with Oakland Municipal Code 2.45.100 regarding the office of the inspector general when it comes to staffing requirements.

And so we want the city administration to bring back a report on how we can get in compliance with the funding allocations allocated from this mid-cycle budget.

Civilianization of OPD staff.

So we've been talking civilianization for a long time.

And there are wells that officers are doing that we can have a civilian doing them.

And so this is directing the city council and informing the city on the progress on implementing transfer for increased accountability.

So improved training and preparedness for legal dumping operation.

So we want to make sure that EELCs are trained properly, and this is a policy directive that has been going back.

We want to make sure that they have hazmat training.

We want to make sure that they can document these POWs, and some of them are asbestos, and making sure that they're documenting them correctly so that we can work with the district attorney to prosecute not only at a misdemeanor level, but when it's a felony, we want to make sure it's documented properly.

And with that, I am complete.

Thank you, Councilmember Brown and Uncker.

Excellent.

Well, thank you so much, colleagues.

I know we all work down very uh collectively on these specific amendments, and so there's just a couple that I do want to highlight um that um, you know, I was really focused on ensuring that we we made these investments and as council member Ramachandran mentioned, um, all of these all of this information is um in the agenda packet.

Um, so specifically, if you're looking at attachment six, you can actually see um where um all of the funds are coming from.

Of course, we know that fund 1010 is our general fund, and you'll see that the majority of the other investments that we're making into some of these programs come from various other funds, and then in addition, when you look at our memo, which is attachment number five, um you'll be able to see everything listed out in the various categories.

And so um, you know, what was really important to me was of course listening to my council colleagues as well as community members around some of the investments that we really needed to make, and so um was really grateful that everyone was in support of supporting the public safety initiative initiatives around our downtown and Lake Merritt corridors, as well as adding more funds for safety ambassadors, um, and then um as was mentioned already.

Uh the mayor, uh the the mayor's the mayor's office and and the mayor um really helped uh lay the groundwork for a lot of these key investments, um, but another thing that we were able to um add by direct um employee feedback as well was more electricians to ensure that we are actually um you know fixing our our street lights um in a timely manner as well as a solar street lighting project, which we're excited to bring online, um, and then in addition, uh the um uh also direct community feedback around the uh OM for the Cultural Affairs Department to support the arts.

We know that this was a major topic of discussion, and we need to continue to find um ongoing support for um for our artists in our community.

Um so those were just a couple of the things, and then as far as in the policy directives, um, we received a lot of uh feedback around the eligibility list, and so we were able to draft some language that provides a little bit more flexibility for the departments, providing a 40-day forty-five-day grace period, and then as Council President Jenkins mentioned around the public information officer, um and just how um you we all know that the city of Oakland um has many resources available for community, but if community members have no idea what those are, um, then they can go um untapped into, and so uh one of the thoughts that I had was around ensuring that each department actually has a public information officer.

So really looking forward to uh that implementation so that uh more of the things that are more of the positive things that are happening in our city and the resources that we have available are really getting out to community members that need it most.

Um so I'll stop there.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilman.

Uh, thanks a lot.

I appreciate all of the work that everyone on uh the entire council did uh and everyone in the community, our finance team, our our city administration was incredibly helpful.

You know, I sat here a year ago and talked about the the nobody's happy budget.

You know, today I think I'm I'm happy to sit here and say that our council amendments constitute the nobody's crazy budget.

Uh our amendments from the budget team are a model that is reasonable, accountable, and sane.

And you know, I'm not gonna belabor the details here because I think my colleagues have done a great job with highlighting all of the all of the council amendments, but a couple of things that I do want to focus on are the two and a half million dollars in safe parking and hotel vouchers uh for our our unhoused neighbors, which I think is an incredibly important thing.

Um, the $50 million in already approved bond money that we accelerated towards affordable housing production, and um, of course I also love that new fire engine smell, so adding two fire rigs is crucial.

Um, but I think that the values that we led with as a council budget team are key here.

We're doing things in a way that we haven't always done in the past.

We added no new employees to the general fund in our council amendments.

We funded no recurring expenses out of one-time revenues.

We brought four voter approved measures out of fiscal emergency and into full compliance with voter mandates.

And our single biggest line item expenditure in the council amendments was an investment in paying down our long-term pension obligations.

And while I am hopeful that we can pass a budget here today, I want to emphasize that we are by no means done.

Despite what you may have been told by some reports about Oakland, our non-sworn employees did not receive a raise last year.

Zero percent.

We are losing valuable talented workers because of this.

And speaking for myself here, I commit to working to make sure that we can offer a compensation package to all of our employees, both sworn and non-sworn, that like our council budget amendments is reasonable, accountable, and sane.

So I thank you all for everybody's work on this.

I thank you for your participation.

Thank you.

Um opening it up to other council members to present any amendments or um thoughts.

Do you want to raise your hand?

Councilmember Gaia, please go ahead.

Opportunity.

Uh, certainly having been part of the political process for many many years.

Um, I still have some questions regarding the budget that we have.

Because when I look at the reports, how many vacancies do we have?

We have 839 vacancy positions that we budgeted the previous year, so we budgeted the previous year.

Where are where's the money for those 839 positions we never filled?

It went from public works, police department, the fire, and so forth.

And I think we those of you in the finance department, you did see a report from the administration in terms of the vacancies that we have.

So for me, it's it's very clear what are the priorities of of uh the city of Oakland today, and I'll be real brief on these.

First of all, it's public safety.

Allocate an additional 50 million dollars annually to strengthen our public safety, supporting the following positions and related needs, included but not limited to increasing the sworn staffing uh beyond the current uh budgeted 678 officers, tour still requires 700 with a long-term goal of 750.

Because when I uh manage public safety committee, we had 750.

But when I got here several years ago, we had 805 officers, but now we're down to I don't know, 600.

Then they tell me, well, we only have 478, and so the numbers keep changing.

Uh, secondly, restorting the officers assigned for our neighborhoods to support the EMT EMAT functions, uh restoring at least two community resource officers, CROs per district, and also reinstating neighborhood services coordinators uh with the NCs, uh increasing uh the number of traffic enforcement officers dedicated to addressing speeding in each district, increasing fire department staffing to ensure that fire safety operations by filling 121 vacant positions and reducing the current 19% vacancy rate.

Secondly, allocate an additional 40 million dollars annually to strengthen public works, to strengthen public works that cleans our neighborhoods, that cleans in front of your house, that cleans your street, and most of all now we're cleaning around our schools because the schools don't have the personnel to do that, and uh so maintaining an adequate number of fully functioning vehicles to ensure daily street cleaning by field staff historically the city uh procured 50 to 100 replacement vehicles annually through 2023 since the funding and decentralizing fleet replacement.

Only five vehicles have been procured outside of the 3100 sewer fund, and an estimated 25 million per year is required to maintain the current age and condition of the fleet.

The average fleet age is 13 years, nearly double the industry standard of 6.7 years, purchasing seven illegal dumping abatement trucks, one for each council district, or an estimated cost of $1.1 million, 7 trucks, $150,000, adding an illegal dumping crew at approximately $750,000 annually for salary and benefits, increasing public works field staffing to improve street and neighborhood cleanliness by filling 104 vacant positions and reducing the current 17.45 vacancy rate, and then allocating 30 million annually to strengthen our department of transportation, and certainly increasing the funding for traffic calming measures, equipment and support resources, increased funding to repair and maintain city traffic signals, increasing Department of Transportation staffing levels to ensure timely maintenance and safety improvements by filling 119 vacant positions, 119 vacant positions and reducing the current 28% vacancy rate within the Department of Transportation, and of course, uh allocate an additional $50 million annually to strengthen our housing and homeless services and increasing the Department of Housing to fill the filling the 13 vacant positions that we currently currently have because we currently have 16.25 vacancy rate and um and allocate an additional 10 million dollars annually to strengthen human resources department uh so we can be able to fill the vacancies that will be we've had for year after year that we keep budgeting saying we have the money to fill those for those positions, but we never fill them.

We never fill them.

So I want to be very clear with the administrator and the finance director.

If when we approve the budget to fill these positions, that you know, one is that we have the money, and with previous vacancies that we currently have today, we had the money to fill the positions, but we never did.

And for me, my advice to this city council, really the priorities are very clear.

Public safety in a clean city, and we need to take care of the individuals that are homeless on our streets to make sure, uh, because I get calls daily.

Well, Mr.

Gaia, someone broke into my home, someone broke into my business, somebody stole my car, and we're now responding to those immediate requests that the taxpayer is paying their taxes to make sure that the money that they've provided us is allocated to take care of these immediate needs within the city of Oakland.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Before I continue, I just want to mention one note on the policy directives that these have been the published policy directives that council members put out there has been consolidated into this one document.

Um, so we so what we have shared today publicly um is a consolidation.

We inadvertently forgot two of the items from Councilmember Fife's uh directives, and we will be printing that as uh out as well shortly.

Thank you.

Um other council members who would wish to speak, and those are number um policy directives published from council member five's directives number three and four.

Everything else was consolidated with ours as long as well as the published ones from council member Houston.

I think Councilmember Fife was first.

Go ahead, Councilmember Fife.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Thank you.

There's so much paper up here.

This isn't uh Deborah, if you could hand out my additional amendments.

Um I was pleased to see that a lot of the work that I've done over the uh last few years was included in the budget team's um proposals as well as the policy directors.

So thank you, Councilman uh President Jenkins for listing and including my policy directives in this document.

I would like to add for um future transparency and report out of the structural deficit and analysis and budgeting for an addition to be made about the process for the finance department, um, purchasing or investigating the software necessary for um broader forecasting of our budgets.

So right now we have uh a two-year budget, and I think it would be and we've discussed this in in other meetings and other spaces, to look beyond the biennial longer than the two years so that we can have a broader perspective versus working in these two-year chunks about the financial health of the city of Oakland.

So I think there should be some additional language around and um through the chair.

Do we have our finance director here?

I know you're ready to answer all of the questions.

We've discussed how some uh municipalities do longer forecasting for their budget, and in the past, you've stated that in order for the city of Oakland to do that, and we are interested in doing that, then there are other things that are needed.

Could you help me uh clarify what language would be needed in a but in a directive so that we can make sure that we're keeping track of where we are in the process of um moving in that direction?

I think appropriate language might be to direct the city administrator to explore the technology requirements for budgeting beyond the two-year cycle and to bring back recommendations with the biennial budget.

I didn't write that down, but I'm hoping someone I did, so I will incorporate that into our amended budget in addition to items three and four, which we inadvertently forgot from three and four from my yes, that was outstanding.

And I also have some uh thank you, thank you, Director Johnson.

Um, I also had an addition, I I believe my staff handed it out to you all.

Um, because I also have to thank uh thank you again, Council President Jenkins, for the information about the film initiative.

I brought that forward two years ago, and we weren't able to fund it at that time because of fiscal emergencies, which we're going to address moving forward with some of these policy directives.

But in order for the incentives to work, which are listed in the mayor's budget and uh the budget team's um amendments as well, we need a facilitator.

And it looks like the city administrator also mentioned that in a document that was just presented to us today, that we need to add OM for the film incentive funding and understanding how the city of Oakland moves when it comes to hiring, it will take us, unfortunately, a lot of time to find someone to do this work, to staff up and then to get these film incentives out of the door.

And I'm gonna do a plug for Jamal True Love, who's in the audience who was in the last black man in San Francisco shout out to our local actor who's right here in the chambers with us.

And I also have to give a shout out to Boots Riley, who uh has a film in studios right now.

I love boosters, Oakland grown, Oakland made.

Um Samantha Bempong, who's been a champion of this program since day one, who I've worked with for the last several years to try to get this forward, and um Raphael Casal, who was also who I've also asked why aren't you filming here?

In order to get our filmmakers these incentives out of the door, I'm recommending that we add an additional position or a contract.

It's not it's one-time funding, it is not um a staff position, so it's not gonna take us the time to try to ramp up internally, but it is a contract um with make it bay.

So I'm requesting a vacancy savings to be utilized towards a contract for the film administration program, and the contract would go to make it bay or their fiscal sponsor to administer the the dollars that the budget team and the mayor have put in this budget, so that's uh an amendment that I am bringing to the floor, and there's also um you know a budget amendment that I have that addresses the community garden and food pilot program.

There is an um in my initial position, there is uh individual that's slated to do this work to manage all of the community gardens that the city has, um, starting with a pilot program and and one particular geography, but there are um hundreds of beds that could be utilized to feed Oakland residents, and I'm I'm making amendment on the floor to add an additional position to administer the program.

So, what you saw in my previous published amendments were the individual that would operate the gardens to get their hands in the dirt and to manage the volunteers and the staff that would be working there, but um there's also now this amendment to help um gather emails to uh have events programmed and to do the administrative work of this garden pilot program.

And so, if I could just share a little bit about my uh reasoning behind this this funding, is that as a result of the big beautiful bill, Donald Trump is in his whatever you want to call him, his government, his administration are requiring individuals throughout the country who are currently qualified to receive SNAP or EVT benefits to have this new welfare to work type of program.

With this program, there are an increased number of hours that people are going to have to either work or volunteer or else they will lose all of their food benefits.

And I cannot stress how much that food is essential to quality of life for for residents.

It's a public safety issue because when people are hungry, we know what happens, and it's also a work issue.

So if we're able to provide this program, this pilot program, then we can help all of the residents in the city of Oakland who are potentially going to lose benefits by providing an outlet for them to get their hours towards their welfare to work um criteria to get food.

There are millions of people that are gonna be thrown off benefits if you know if there's not some kind of program, and I think the city of Oakland should do and can do a part by um this program.

Those are the two floor amendments I wanted to make.

It looks like my policy directive was already included, and I yield the floor.

Thank you.

Um I want to use my discretion to clarify the 250 and the 1010 spreadsheet that you would like to amend for the film program.

Is your intention behind this in addition to the 250 that we have, in addition to the two feet that the mayor has, so total 750.

Because the initial the initial program that we brought forth in 2024 was for 600,000, and so even with this 500,000, it's less, and with inflation, the cost of a program would have gone up in the next in these two years.

So that's part of it.

I'm hoping that the 500,000 that's currently allocated will be for the incentives, and the additional will be for the contract to administrate those incentives.

Thank you, Claire.

Councilmember Houston.

And through the chair, I know um my colleagues are going to be um shocked that I'm not too much to say because of my recommendations.

I'm like, wow, I really appreciate it.

Um listening to what I said about for my for the homeless for the the beautification efforts and you know, for the walk of fame and for the EEOs to prosecute these individuals that are committing crimes against our community.

I I don't have too much to say, I'm I'm happy.

Um, but I do have something to say to Mr.

Bradley.

I have one clarification because my seniors are and my children are the most important.

So, Mr., through the chair, Mr.

Bradley, can you come up?

I have a question on this.

Um my number three, where it says policy directive three prioritize senior support through keeping the senior centers fully open and accessible, and they had had it um only four days a week.

Yeah, they only had it four days a week, and I spoke to them, so we made it five days a week from 10 a.m.

to four p.m., so they could be open five days a week, but but it says something here.

It says, and I want you or Mrs.

Lake to to you says suggest revised language.

I I don't understand that part, expand the hours um of the senior centers should be prioritized based on available funding and staffing.

Does that what does that mean?

Does that mean that let me let me let me finish?

Does that mean because I gotta understand it?

Um, does that mean that if we have more funding, we can open it from nine to five?

So through the chair to council member guy, the response.

Sir Councilmember Houston, I'm sorry.

Long day for me already.

I apologize, Councilmember Houston.

Sorry, the budget provides the funding for four days full day.

Should this body wish to go to five days full day, you need to appropriate additional dollars, which means you need to find additional revenue source or reduction to go there.

The amount of that increase is just under eight hundred thousand dollars to go to a fifth day from what the mayor has proposed.

So the because yours was framed as a policy directive rather than a budget amendment, we provided revised language to a policy directive, which would be to us to go explore.

If you wanted to propose a budget amendment, you would need to identify resources, in this case primarily in the general purpose fund to add it back.

Is that clear?

Oh, it's clear.

It's clear.

So through the chair, um, if you guys want to make me extra extra happy, counsel, um, do that.

And um, I'm happy.

I'll uh I'll yield the floor, but I do want to say one thing I really appreciate, you know, the hard work that that that this team is did they did uh because I know it's hard.

You have to balance, we got all the emails from our constituents saying they need this, we need this, and uh I feel that you did the best in interest in the uh of our constituents, especially with addressing the crime and the safety and the homeless situation and our seniors.

I really appreciate it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh to council member Houston, could you clarify whether you want to pursue this directive to the city administrator to explore sources of funding to increase the yes that's what I want okay we will craft that uh directive and send it out along including what we just mentioned with Councilmember Fifes as well shortly greatly appreciate that makes me happy see councilmember wong uh thank you colleagues um overall just um I think you guys did a uh fantastic job really so thank you I know it took a lot of late nights and I think you guys also did a great job of finding um where we had positive fund balances to fund so many of the things that we need so um excellent work uh in particular I want to call out uh homelessness services we really need it um in spite of the pit count I just uh it's to me it's become very visible that we have more folks sleeping on the streets uh not even in RBs just um it and it's just unacceptable um I also want to call out the funding for Lake Merit uh I know my uh community has been asking for this um I also want to thank you for the graffiti abatement although I will say that one thing that's really critical to me is that we don't just keep on cleaning up after the graffiti same thing with the illegal dumping right we've sent millions and millions of dollars on cleaning up cleaning up we also do need to move to actually um penalizing the the taggers right this can be civil penalties doesn't need to be a criminal approach but right now it is the businesses that are being driven out because they bear the cost right now with the ordinances that that penalize essentially the victim for for being the target of graffiti and that is unacceptable.

I also want to call out the HR strike uh task force um which is really important since uh to council member geyer's points we have unacceptable levels of vacancies across each of our our departments so uh thank you for that um that being said I have a couple of uh after I reviewed all the uh amendments that you all presented I have a couple of relatively minor amendments to the amendments so to speak that I just want to offer up that will uh fill some of the gaps that I uh see um and I'm gonna present my screen for the public okay all right um council member do you have a handout yes and there's a handout that should be on each of your desks and also for the members of the public this is the one that is I don't believe the clerk received it to pass it out I think it's I think she did uh she just she distributed it out I think I gave it to the copyright it's the one in uh gray black and white through the chair we we passed we passed it out before the meeting I did find fine okay I know it's just just a lot of paper on everybody's desk so um if we could just pause for a second while all council members can yeah absolutely and I also need to get this up on the how do we get it to display on the and through the chair there should be copies for the public on the front desk as well.

Yeah I do.

Thank you.

Okay.

I'm gonna go ahead and present the amendments so uh the very first thing um what are we funding?

This is really um you all have you all know that really combating the sex trade in uh in particular in District 2, but this is a citywide issue, is something that is one of my top priorities, and even as Measure NN is going to include funding for more enforcement operations.

The issue that we have right now is the ordinance that we all passed that ensures that fines against the Johns and traffickers and the businesses go to exit services for the women and girls on the blade.

That is not being enforced right now.

And that's a problem, right?

Because we can continue doing this enforcement, but at the end of the day, we need to ensure that there are exit services for the women and girls.

I've been talking to a city attorney Richardson.

Is ready and interested in helping the city enforce this human trafficking ordinance for the year while we develop a more long-term solution.

And just to let you all know, in the 111 days since that ordinance has passed, there have been 94 arrests of Johns.

If that was coupled with that $4,000 civil fine that we all passed, that would have represented 1.2 million dollars a year for these for these providers for the exit services.

And this team is also poised to help support the operationalization of other administrative fines, such as Council Member Guy or your side show ordinance has not been enforced.

And so this is uh arguably a revenue generating um need that we have in the city, right?

Uh we we just have challenges with enforcement.

What I've identified is that um there is both uh a little bit more in the parking uh the projections from parking revenues 133,000 um 749 dollars, as well as a slight reduction in OM from the city attorney's or excuse me, city administrators' office that could fund this need through uh the city attorney's office.

That's the first thing.

Uh second uh amendment that I have here, if you want to turn the page, uh, is uh in the state gas tax, which by the way, there's 15 million dollars remaining in that state gas fund, so uh there's plenty there.

I am adding an amendment just for 500,000 on for quick build, specifically quick build pilot projects.

Um I know that you all had uh included some funding, but I just don't think it's enough.

We need more traffic calming.

We continue to have too many uh too much reckless driving uh out there and quick build projects in particular allow us to roll out projects quickly, affordably, uh in ways that address the the crisis of traffic collisions happening on these streets, as well as uh this method around crime prevention through environmental design that uh we all need.

Again, this is around basic public safety for uh our city.

Uh final thing that I'm just adding here is under uh fund 2416, this is the traffic and the safety fund.

Uh this is where I am recommending that we uh have a red light camera program pilot.

Uh, this is for the startup cost for that um for this type of program, which again would be revenue generating.

We have rampant running of red lights.

We all know that across the city.

We have 192, 200 severe and fatal crashes each year in in Oakland, mostly in equity communities.

Um, and I will say we essentially ended that program back in 2014, and there were actually issues with the program in its former iteration, um, but the good the thing that it was doing right is that that former program did cut down collisions by over half.

That is an important metric.

And uh right now I'll say that since 2014, that technology has evolved and is improved.

So the issues that were present back over a decade ago um have made strides.

Um, some of the issues right were that people were getting ticketed for like a slow right turn.

The the technology has evolved not to ticket people like that, or people who just made it across, who um ran a red light just microseconds.

The technology has evolved.

Um I also want to point out that New York City is actually quadruple quadrupling their red light program, so this is something that um, you know, other cities are looking to invest into.

Again, it's revenue generating.

It can sustain itself, but we need to make uh a dire we need to um direct and ensure that the Department of Transportation makes this a priority.

So that's all my amendments.

Thank you.

Um colleagues, we will move to public comment before engaging in council member five.

I have a question to the city administrator.

What what are what is the intention of us deliberating on the inner office memo that was shared at the top of the meeting?

Thank you.

You guys are moving fast.

I want to appreciate the budget team and all the council members for the work on the budget.

Um we pulled together our department heads to review the last versions of the budget amendments as well as uh the policy directives.

We're gonna um I'm gonna ask Bradley to give those comments uh if that's okay, and we're amending them based on the amendments that were brought forward this morning.

Thank you.

And before you start, Director Johnson through the chair.

If I may, I I talked about the floor amendments that I made, but I didn't talk about get ready, Council President.

I didn't talk about the amendments that were in the budget, so um I I wanted to list those.

These were already um noticed in the packet, but the amendments that I made include adding back one full-time complaint investigator to in the community police review agency.

Uh we are discussing using vacancy savings within the uh city administrators' office to help maintain CIPRA's investigative capacity, and I'm doing this because residents voted overwhelmingly to pass measure LL and establish CIPRA to investigate police misconduct, and freezing investigator positions is going against the will of the voters and will potentially move us away from oversight.

So I wanted to state that for the record.

The mayor's budget included the following equity statement.

Adequate investigator staffing is essential to uphold CIPRA's mandate, maintain public trust, and ensure that all communities, particularly those most impacted by police interactions, which are black folks in Oakland, receive fair, timely, and thorough investigations.

So adding back at least one investigator is important for us to allow the agency to meet its mandate.

So I wanted to make sure that was listed on the record.

And the initial uh position that I added to with my floor amendments were to add one full-time limited duration employee within public works to build this food resiliency program focused on community gardens in the city of Oakland.

The city's community gardens program is understaffed and it lacks the leadership and planning to fully execute its objectives, and it was originally started by city council in 1963.

And through this position, council would not only address this service gap, but we'd also be able to create a focus pilot program that will help foster cultivation of fresh pro produce at the neighborhood level to eventually establish a free food program throughout the city of Oakland.

And in a time where government benefits are being cut and most families are struggling to put food on the table, I think it's important for the city to think long term about how we advance sustainability and food security.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh before moving to Director Johnson, Council President Jenkins has had this hand raised.

Please go ahead.

Yeah, so I appreciate the council member when it comes to uh the amendments that you may.

I think a couple of challenges with the vacancy savings.

We don't want to use one-time cost to fund ongoing positions because we're gonna run into a position in which next year we're going to have to find money to fund that position.

I think secondarily CIPRA has never hired all the positions that they've been budgeted for.

So I think it might be incumbent upon us to figure out how we can.

Excuse me.

I can't roll anyone out of order.

Um it might be incumbent upon us to work together as a strong um supporter of civilian oversight.

It might be incumbent on us to work together to ensure or see where the challenges are for CIPRA getting fully staffed up with the positions that they do have budgeted already.

Thank you.

Uh Director Johnson, did you have a response?

Thank you, Chair.

I am going to uh go over very and I will do this quickly and briefly as I possibly can as the city administrator mentioned uh the directors uh have a coordinated opportunity or are providing you a coordinated document that will reacts to their responses to the items that were noticed in the agenda packet I know some of these items have changed there's been clarifications since they were noticed um so some of these may be moot and they may not even be under consideration but in an effort to be fully transparent we wanted to provide you the best coordinated uh reaction from the directors I'm gonna start with the budget amendment items some of these are additional clarifications uh and suggestions to you uh some of these are our questions from staff whose clarification might help us in the implementation of your items should they be adopted um and I will simply walk through them the first one from council member five is regarding the community garden pilot program I should note that we've resolved this after the fact provided that the ELDE in 2244 is dedicated to the maintenance and operations of the of the community gardens at the time we were uh we were struggling to find that uh OPW is struggling to find that nexus however if it's tied to the garden maintenance and operation which I think is the intent that he's described that is fine regarding council member guy there are a number of prioritif we would just note that we did not have a funding source identified for those uh related to council member Ramachandran Unger and Jenkins amendments and I'll go through these one by and I'll try to be as quick as I can um staff and EWD noted um that there needs to be funding uh for the administration of this program I know council member five proposed an alternative to that through a contract but they're noting um the staff response notes that uh the equivalent position would be uh program analyst two should it be done in house uh OPW notes that as it relates to the proposed public bathroom facility that the Portland loo was roughly 400,000 so there's questions as to what the operation will be to fund uh that proper bathroom whether or not it's enough there is some feedback from our uh CHS team um the off in the Office of Homeless Solutions regarding the shelter bled allocation and what it could restore regarding the transfer of public information officer from OIG to OPD I'll invite the chief up to speak to this but as a um the uh city administrator's office believes that that PIO position would be better serviced in CAO to work on a centralized motto in uh model in support of all departments for public information and if the chief has any more information on the civilianization effort I would invite him up to speak to that if he'd like to come up to that.

I can also keep going if you want to hear from him later but as you want me to hear Rama's render.

Yes Council President so this apps this seems actually undermining uh we checked in with the city administration regarding this item and they checked in with the chief and for the city administration to come back and say this would be better served somewhere else on the day of the budget seems absolutely undermining.

To the council president I will note I'm the concern is an operational concern which might not have been concerned at the time of costing I'll invite the chief to talk about the civilianization concern he has.

Thank you.

Council President um it's definitely feasible from the OPD side as far as we view it we assessed it.

We could definitely civilianize that position we have other sworn staff that are assigned to the chief's office so in the event that and I know some of the concerns that were listed from the city administrator's office were related to responding to active shooters uh safety issues in that event, you know, we'll manage those resources.

The uh the professional staff members that will be assigned as a PIO to the Oakland police department will coordinate with the area captains, and the reality of it is they wouldn't be responding to a scene of an active shooter unless the the area was secured in the first place, as regards to accessing uh police that like databases necessary to kind of vet through that information.

We do have a sworn member that's the chief of staff who could actually do that and track it in real time and provide the information that we legally can provide.

So I think this is actually feasible from our end.

Thank you, Chief.

That seems absolutely contrary to what's in this document that we receive today, and it seems absolutely undermining from the administration on the day that the budget is coming out to print something that is contrary to what this chief says, and it's really a challenge for me.

Thank you.

Council President, if I could just comment on that.

That those were previously uh issues that were identified under the last uh chief's administration, but reassessing it and looking at where we're at right now and knowing that we have to spread load the responsibilities just for staffing shortages in the in the meantime, anyways.

As we build back up, it is capable to manage those resources to support those positions, and that's my stance.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And I will also just add before Director Johnson continues, restating what the council president said, the city administrators' office was present for all of our regular weekly budget team check-ins to those members of the council and public that were not in those conversations.

There was a representative from the city administrator's office in each of those meetings.

There was a near daily communication between the budget team or members of us and and the departments.

Pretty much every single line item that was in our original amendments was discussed in some capacity with the actual departments administering them, or um an assistant city administrator responsible for those departments.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So seeing this, the chief has uh withdrawn the any conversation around that particular item.

Moving to fund 2244, uh OPW notes the mechanism by which they would accomplish the park bathroom blitz as more of just information for the council members uh regarding 2270.

Um the I believe this is the uh Office of Homeless Solutions notes just the uh scale and scope of where uh what would be done with emergency hotel vouchers again information as well on the safe parking pilot program from uh Office of Homeless Solutions around the sort of the concept there regarding fund 2416.

Uh DOT notes that the position the OM provided for the operation of this program would be better converted into a project manager ELDE position.

I would note that we that can actually be done after the fact administratively with this, but they note that that is their intent regarding the uh in front 40 uh I think that's actually fund 4510 apologies, my error.

Uh, the regarding the HR vacancy strike force, um HR has um is providing some clarification on how they would again um because it's not a defined term uh operationalize this resource to improve our hiring capacity and similar provide some additional uh context regarding the classification study and IT regarding the Wi-Fi structure, it notes um what how it will operate on that.

I will pause there, those are mostly just commentary regarding the budget amendments for clarification, and I think they're presented in this context so that the council understands how staff is interpreting those amendment items uh in advance of implementation so that if there's any discussion or additional clarification from the council members at the time of amendments, your directors can hear from you and provide additional guidance to us, incorporate that into the legislation as necessary.

And I'll pause there before getting to the policy directives.

Councilmember Brown.

Excellent.

Um, thank you so much for the feedback.

Um, I did just want to note that with many of these amendments and allocations, uh, most of them have to come back by resolution, correct?

Um, and so um I guess I just want to say out loud that for some of the allocations, um, I know for myself, um, I have some some feedback that I would like to share as far as the intent, and so um, I just want to say that publicly for the record.

Um, because one of the items that has to do with the the Wi-Fi improvement at recreations and senior centers, um, direct community feedback is that that infrastructure is not adequate, and we also know that the Oak Wi-Fi system, um, the city's investment in Oak Wi-Fi is also not sufficient because of the wires that were cut.

Um, and um I can hold on that, and so this particular recommendation, I'm I'm just not sure um where it came from.

Understood.

Um, if our IT department wants to provide additional feedback on uh their commentary here, it's understood that this item would have to be prioritized specifically coming back, although uh there's sorry.

Um, I think we're fine in the interest of time and making comment.

We are happy to move forward.

Are there other council member questions?

Councilmember Wong, please.

Uh, yes, and um, I did want to just mention too, I do think we need a policy directive around having a real staffing plan for OPD, not only sworn officer staff, so we meet the measure and then mandate, but also the dispatch staff and other civilian staff.

Um, it needs to be a priority.

We have dispatchers that are literally going into miscarriage because of the the amount of trauma that they're they are experiencing on the job, the amount of stress that they're experiencing, they're incredibly understaffed.

We have to make this a priority.

Um, and we continue to I've said this before, but I recently just called into 911 two weeks ago, was on hold for five minutes.

It is that sort of basic city service that it's not that's not acceptable, so we need to make that a priority.

Um, and then I just had a couple of questions, either to the budget team as well as uh Bradley on some of the 1010 funds in since I know that you know we're trying to preserve our 1010 funds.

Was there just some due diligence just to confirm?

Since there's things like the DOT towing blitz, the public bathroom facilities, um, let's see the uh equipment to support illegal dumping crews, all incredibly important.

Was there due diligence just to make sure that there were no other funds uh non-1010 that could support these?

In my conversations previously with the uh president's budget team.

Yes, the allocations of the general purpose fund were assessed to see if there were other alternate funding sources that were available, and should an item remain in 1010.

It is safe to indicate that there is no alternate funding source that is eligible for that purpose.

Okay, all right, thank you.

Okay, um to Madam City Clerk.

If we can move to public comment.

So I'm going to call all the names that you signed up for item four and five.

I have pulled your cards so you can have the appropriate amount of time.

If you have time ceded to you, please state the names of the people who are seeding to you, as they must be present in chambers or on Zoom for you to get that um seated time.

And again, if you are seating time, you are giving up your right to speak because you are giving your time to somebody else.

As with standard practice, all folks in chambers will be taken first.

Those taken on Zoom will be taken immediately after.

And those on Zoom, please raise your hand so I can easily identify you if you wish to speak and you submitted a card.

Millie Cleveland, I have you with seated time from Kathy Tran.

So it's Ms.

Trand is in the chamber.

Ben Gould, I have you with item four and five.

Kevin Daly, I have you with item four and five.

Miss Asada Olabala also have you for items four and five.

Fatima Yousaf, I have you for four to four and five.

Blair Beekman, I have you for items four and five.

Jennifer Finley, I also have you for items four and five.

And I'm going to call all the names at this time, and you can approach the podium in any order and again state your name before beginning.

Just give me a second to get through all the names so there's no confusion.

Pamela Drake, Charles Delson or Idelson, Katherine Stirbeck, Faith Kirkpatrick, Miss Barbara Tangiery, Amber Kennedy, Jennifer Foswe, Damian Scott, Madeline Stacy, Charlie Detterline, Christopher Powell, Pamela Hawthorne, Andrea Ramirez, Elliot Goodrich, Refelly, Eliza, Rafilway, Eliza Dennis, Steve, Kanofsky, Celia Buello, Stephanie Trans, Karen Royce, Mina Kushi, Jamal True Love, Carolyn McCormick, Jason, Tubbs, maybe, Keon, or Keegan, Michelle, Aisha Mays, Edwin Lewis, Borjan, Omar Rivera, Faith Kirkpatrick, Susan A.

Hammer, sorry, Susan A.

Hammer, Ann Jenks, Janice Roberts, Stephanie Trans, Wilma Okanofa, Don Saria, Lorraine Saria, Nikia Powell Lee, Marcia Smith, Celeste Neal, Dagmar Sarota, Janice Roberts, Natish, Natitia or Natish Leon, Charles Berthia, Mary Faran, Paul Schroeder, Carla Guerrera, Bryant Duong with L I S C, Millie Cleveland, Annx, Wendy Peterson, Lenore Gunts, Kim Olson, Blake Spears, Nina Bridges, Deborah Britt, Amaka Watson, Leslie Plato Smith, Abra Levine, Colin Prieth, and Pamela Drake.

I have you for twice, but I have you for item four.

Please approach the podium in any order.

I have you with two cards and seated time by Kathy.

Kathy, are you in the chamber?

Thank you.

So I believe you have three minutes.

How many?

Three minutes.

Okay, Millie Cleveland with Coalition for Police Accountability.

In 2024, Timothy Dolan, a 26-year veteran who led the traffic unit and served as vice president of OPOA Police Union, was paid 493,247 in overtime, combined with his salary and other pay.

This netted him $711,000 paycheck, making OPD's highest paid employee that year.

What has our council done?

Have they demanded that the recommendations from the city auditor be implemented?

No.

Have you given the time of day to the in-depth research conducted by the labor groups that exposed a variety of ways to oversee and control OPDs overtime?

It was called Smarter Public Safety.

They sent it to you.

While the community is facing the loss of shelter beds, violence interrupters, and cuts to senior centers.

What does his council do?

They propose a budget that's designed to protect the police union.

Our electeds are committed to undermining independent police oversight.

It violates both the charter and the municipal code by not funding mandated positions for the inspector general.

It supports a non-mandated position within the city administrator's office at $450,000, duplicating the work of the underfunded, independent, charter mandated inspector general.

Our council refuses to promote civilianization of police jobs that will save money and put more officers on the street.

You move one PIO out of the inspector office, Inspector General's office when there are at least 50 positions that could be civilianized.

It seeks to cut programs that could speed up discipline, so there's shorter paid administrative leads of officers that are sitting at home making their full salary, waiting on disciplinary hearing.

The question I have is, who are you serving?

The people of Oakland or the Oakland Police Department.

I want to challenge your concept of fiscal emergency when, in fact, you refuse to look at the biggest elephant in the room, which is OPD's overtime, which has yet to even been put on the agenda of a public safety committee meeting for discussion.

You cannot call it an emergency when you refuse to look at OPD's overtime.

I'm also a member of Showing Up for Racial Justice Bay Area, which works in partnership with people of color-led organizations, including APTP and the Oakland People's Budget Commission.

I'm here today to demand that you each vote no on any mid-year budget proposal that does not one restore funding and frozen staff positions for Oakland's police commission.

Two fund the community police review agency to hire seven investigators, as the law requires, three, fully fund the inspector general for all eight positions.

Civilian oversight of policing in Oakland has been a popular voter-driven response to a police department that has failed for over two decades to reliably investigate itself, causing excessive fear and mistrust of police, whether among many communities of color or those of us who are white who feel pained and outraged by Oakland's long history of inequitable policing.

It's time for the city council to have the moral clarity.

I'm a 24-year resident of uh District 5, and I demand that I'm also a member of Surge Bay Area.

I demand that the mayor and city council make the change, these four changes to the mid-cycle budget.

One, fully fund the inspector general to charter mandated levels, eight full-time workers, two to restore CPRA staffing to its charter minimums, which is seven investigators, three, lift the freeze on police uh commission, commissioned staffing, four restore the money for lawyers who help watch the police.

And the reason for all of this is because civilian oversight of OPD is a voter-driven response to a police department that a federal court has not trusted to watch itself since 2023.

The police commission was built by Oakland voters because the city could not be trusted to hold OPD accountable on its own.

Paula Hawthorne, I've been trying to find the money to restore the violence interrupter groups that were dropped from the um uh budget for the Department of Violence Prevention.

Um boss tribe have been longtime servants of Oakland and are now dropped.

Where is the money going to come from to fund them?

Well, I spent all this today looking at y'all's budget.

There are 32 additional FTEs above what they currently have that the finance department is asking for.

I point that out again.

Thirty-two additional ones.

Public works wants six more, city administrator wants eight more.

Half that, just half that, and you get the money to restore the people we need on the streets.

It's a moral obligation to do that.

Thank you.

Hi, good afternoon, Council members.

My name is Brian Duong, and I'm a housing program officer at a local initiative support corporation, also known as LISC.

Our office is right next to the Fox Theater.

So list directly supports affordable housing development across Oakland through project financing and capacity building for nonprofits and faith and community-based housing partners.

You know, in our Oakland Faith and Housing Program portfolio alone.

We're supporting more than 15 Oakland based projects representing over 750 affordable homes.

More than 500 of those projects are not yet complete and still depend on pre-development entitlements, partnerships, and funding to move forward.

So, you know, we know from direct experience, local housing dollars are often what determine whether affordable homes keep moving or stall.

The 50 million measure you restoration won't close every gap, but it can preserve momentum, leverage outside resources, and bring much needed housing closer to reality for those reasons.

Lisks.

Madeline Stacy.

For decades, Oakland residents, as people have already spoken to, fought for independent civilian oversight for OPD.

Now, as federal oversight is coming to an end, our city leaders are proposing cuts and staffing freezes that threaten the future of police accountability in Oakland.

Our communities deserve transparency.

Our communities deserve accountability.

Our communities deserve oversight bodies that are fully staffed and fully funded.

You may claim that these positions are simply frozen, but let's be clear: a frozen position is one that cannot be filled as an effectively an unfunded position.

And so I support Councilmember Fife's amendments on police oversight, and I also support her amendments on affordable housing and the community garden pilot program.

These are very important endeavors for our town.

So please make these corrections before approving a budget.

Afternoon, Damien Scott with uh East Bay Housing Organizations.

We strongly support Councilmember Fife and the uh council budget team's amendment that includes fifty million dollars of Measure U funding dedicated to affordable housing.

Uh this $50 million will help Oakland HCD acquisition and conversion affordable housing programs and the rapid response homeless housing funding program.

Uh uh this would also allow HCD to launch a new construction NOFA with $30 million in fall 2026 in time for tax credit rounds in 2027.

Oakland has a robust pipeline of shovel-ready projects that can produce over a thousand units of affordable housing.

So thank you for your support in ensuring Oakland uh funds the affordable housing pipeline to keep it moving.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

My name is Celeste Neal.

Marsha Smith and Ikea Pauli wish to cede their time to me.

Are you two Marsha Smith and Ikea next to you?

Yes, no, thank you.

You have three.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Council members and city staff.

My name is Celeste Neal, and I'm a member of the East Oakland Senior Center, and I'm not only representing the East Oakland Senior Center, but all the senior centers and all older adults in our community who rely on our senior centers as a vital source of connection, support, wellness, and belonging.

First, I would like to sincerely thank you for your budgetary consideration of increasing our hours of operation by adding an additional two hours.

We also urge you to find a way to open the senior centers full time without cutting asset program senior aids or other senior services.

To add additional hours to the senior centers, the mayor's budget cuts 10 halftime senior aides in the assets program.

A cut of 174,245 dollars.

These are part-time jobs that contribute to senior centers and other city programs and that benefit other older adults who need gainful employment or need to work to be eligible for Medi-Cal, CalFresh.

We urge you to oppose this cut.

Our senior population continues to grow, and with that growth comes an increased demand for services and programs.

Expanding access is not simply a convenience.

It is an investment in healthy aging, preventative care, and community well-being.

The benefits extend beyond the seniors themselves, helping families, caregivers, and the community as a whole.

We often speak about honoring those who have spent their lives building and strengthening our city.

One meaningful way to do that is by ensuring they have access to programs, services that support them in their later years.

For many seniors, the center is much more than a building.

It's a lifeline.

It's a place where friendships are formed, meals are shared, exercise classes, improve health and educational programs, help people remain active and independent.

Expanded hours and days would allow greater access for seniors who have medical appointments, caregiving responsibilities, transportation challenges, or other commitments during current operating hours.

In addition to extending the days of operation, would help address one of the greatest challenges facing older adults, social isolation isolation.

Loneliness and isolation can negatively affect both physical and mental health.

By opening the center more days each week, we can provide additional opportunities for engagement, recreation, wellness programs, supportive services that improve the quality of life.

I joined the East Oakland Senior Center after the loss of my husband and subsequently retiring after 40 years of federal service.

I was a widow living alone and retired.

I joined the East Oakland Senior Center three days after I retired and have been there ever since.

For me, I found socialization, friendships, community.

I'm engaged in various activities such as excursions, sip and paint, chair exercise.

The center also offers games.

We also have an herb garden quilting and sewing group.

Good afternoon, Council Members.

Stephanie Tran, speaking on item four and five.

Um I'm representing the president, I'm representing Oakland Townstown Chamber of Commerce.

First, I'd like to thank all of the council members, mayor, and the budget team that has worked worked developing these amendments during a challenging fiscal period.

We appreciate the investment proposed in public safety, clean streets, homelessness services, parks, youth programs, and infrastructure improvements.

These are all important priorities that contribute to a cleaner, safer, and more welcoming Oakland.

And as the council continues to deliberate today, we encourage you to place a greater emphasis on economic recovery, business investment, and commercial corridor revitalization.

While these amendments address many of the critical community needs, we believe there is an opportunity to more intentionally invest in economic activity that creates jobs, generate tax revenue, and support Oakland's long-term fiscal health.

We want to see the city prioritize efforts that reduce vacant storefronts, attract and retain businesses, support entrepreneurs, and market Oakland's commercial corridors and activate neighborhood businesses.

These investments not only strengthen our local economy, but also increase foot traffic, encourage private investment, improve public perception, and contribute to a more vibrant neighborhood.

And we also appreciate the investment in graffiti abatement, but we also encourage the city to focus on prevention and accountability.

Cleanup is important, but abatement alone doesn't address the symptom, only addresses the symptom and not the root causes.

Small businesses again should not have to bur should not bear the financial burden of vandalism through cleanup costs.

We also encourage the city to recognize the economic value of community events, cultural programming, and neighborhood activations, long-standing events like the Chinatown's Lunar New Year Bazaar, Street Fest, Oakland Pride, Dia de los Muertos, Black Joy Parade, and many others help bring visitors to Oakland and generate ac economic activity and showcases the diversity of our community.

So we'd encourage you to make these investments.

And Jenks.

Some of the highlights in the summaries are not actually reflected in the budget.

PIO for every department, you cut the PIO for independent oversight.

Fiscal responsibility, the budget does not touch efficiencies and controls for the massive OPD budget.

Charter mandated staffing for oversight, you say.

Nope.

You cut independent oversight staff and funding.

You say civilianization, there are dozens and dozens of OPD jobs that could be filled by civilians, freeing up officers.

The only position civilianized in your department is taken from independent oversight.

You say fund constitutional policing.

You're not funding independent oversight staff.

You instead funded a position controlled by the city administrator.

That's not what independence means.

My mother says that when you have to tell tales about what you do, you are doing wrong.

I also wanted to share with you.

Several years ago, a lady called me.

Her 16-year-old granddaughter was being sex trafficked.

Her phone would ping.

There were sightings.

OPD said she's not being held against her will.

What do you want us to do?

A 16-year-old cannot consent.

I told her to come to the next police commission meeting.

The police chief would be there.

I also connected her with a good friend of mine.

I called her the day before the commission meeting.

She said, I'm sorry I didn't call you.

My granddaughter is home safe and we're getting help.

Daryl Adams and Atamika Village had her back in 48 hours.

Please don't permit unchecked OPD overtime.

Don't leave officers and administrative jobs instead of doing important public safety work.

We need a real analysis of the OPD budget and how to deliver effective public safety.

We can't give blank checks to the police union while you starve out the community networks and services that keep us safe, like Daryl Alams and Atamika Village.

Good afternoon, Council members.

My name is Caroline McCormack, and I am here on behalf of the Housing Accelerator Fund.

I want to thank you and strongly support your recent inclusion of $50 million for affordable housing in the proposed budget.

A portion of this housing investment will go to fund the city's acquisition and conversion to affordable housing program or ACA, which is one of Oakland's most effective tools for preserving affordable housing and preventing displacement before it happens.

By acquiring existing housing and converting it into permanent affordable housing, we're keeping Oakland residents in their homes.

And with a new public-private partnership that the city launched in December 2025 in partnership with stakeholders, community organizations, philanthropy, and financing partners like the HAF to more effectively leverage the city's investment to move more quickly at the seat of uh at the speed of the market.

Uh the ACA pipeline is now um completely or nearly uh fully subscribed, and there's an urgent need to continue investing in this process.

Hello, everybody.

Uh my name is Jamal True Love, and I represent Bay Area Film Night.

Uh, first of all, I'd like to thank Mayor Barbara Lee, Councilmember Fife, and Councilmember Brown for the leadership and uh for the initiative uh the Senate program, the film and center program, as well as budget team, including Councilmember Rama Chandran, Councilmember Unger, and Council President Jenkins.

Um I will also like to acknowledge Liz Luke from the Cultural Uh Affairs Division who spoke at our Oscars in Oakland event and Iris Moranis, uh, Councilmember Rama Sandra, chief of staff for attending our a la boosters screening uh at the Grand Lake Theater.

Uh Mayor Barbara Lee said that she wants to make Oakland the hub of Northern California for filmmaking.

In order for us to do that, not only we need to have the center program for for Hollywood to come and produce movies here, but also we need to incentivize the filmmakers that are here.

When you think about Ryan Kugler, when you think about Boots Riley, they did not have the support of Oakland.

Good afternoon, Council members.

My name is Michelle Monteros.

I'm an organizer with APTP.

I'm here to urge you to fully fund Oakland Civilian Police Oversight and honor the will of Oakland voters.

This is a critical critical moment for the city of Oakland with federal oversight of the Oakland police department potentially ending as early as September.

It is important that now more than ever accountability accountability measures are in place.

If the federal monitor leaves, Oakland civilian oversight bodies will become the primary mechanisms available to ensure transparency, accountability, and public trust.

As someone who's been directly impacted and knows the loss of losing a loved one to the police violence.

The message is clear from Oakland residents and community members.

Accountability cannot be frozen.

We are asking for this council to take four actions before approving this budget.

One, fully fund the Office of Inspector General to its charter mandated staffing level for eight full-time employees, restore CPRA staffing to his charter minimum, lift the staffing freeze on police commission and restore funding for the attorneys who help oversee police misconduct and ensure compliance.

I'm the policy fellow with the senior services coalition of Alameda County and a past chair of the Mayor's Commission on Aging.

I'm also a senior who live in District 4.

I want to acknowledge and add our thanks to Mayor Lee and the budget team for funding our senior centers for four or full days a week, improving Wi-Fi, as well as funding the critical food and meal programs and information and referral programs that our Oakland seniors rely so heavily upon.

Good afternoon, council and community.

My name is Reef Eloy, and I'm also with the Anti-Police Terror Project.

I'm here to raise concerns about the current mid-cycle budget proposal, which has cuts back on funds for the Oakland Police Commission, the Community Police Review Agency, and the Officer of the Inspector General.

These are all civilian oversight bodies that are already operating at 60% below their previous budgets and below their charter mandated staffing minimums.

Civilian oversight of police is a voter-driven response to a police department that a federal court has not trusted to watch itself for over 20 years.

The police commission was built by Oakland voters precisely because our city could not hold OPD accountable on its own.

So I am calling on council to fully fund the Office of the Inspector General to charter mandated staffing levels, restore CIPRA staffing to its charter minimum, lift the freeze on the police commission staffing, and also like to uplift the investments that were named into arts and culture, housing, and our senior services.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

My name is Damaka Watson.

I'm an environmental enforcement officer and public works.

I have worked for the City of Oakland for 24 years, and I'm also the chief stop steward for SCIU 1021.

The budget provides a good start to addressing the crisis of illegal dumping in Oakland.

As an EEO, we have been demanding a more proactive approach to stopping illegal dumping before it starts.

The budget's allocation for more overtime, adding a full-time EEO and adding funding for operations and maintenance will help us do our jobs, but it does not address the chronic under staffing in our program.

If we want to get serious about curbing illegal dumping, the city needs to rethink how the EEOs deliver service.

Turnover in the EEO classification has been very high, and we often have to spend most of our time on administrative work rather than working in the field.

As a recent audit confirmed, enforcement is severely lacking, and we need to see more investments in staffing, training, and technology so we can find and cite bad actors who continue to dump trash in our streets.

Thank you.

Hi, I'm Jennifer Foster, and I have time seated to me from Amber Kennedy.

Amber, thank you.

As you may know, I am president of local 21's ANW chapter and a district six resident.

Thank you for the budget.

However, it needs to do more.

Workers received no cost of living increase last year in the face of escalating inflation, gas, and rent to help the city dig out of a financial creation crisis created by administration.

The city's CAFR says pension liabilities are down 100 million dollars, yet the city negotiators seek to send more of us below the poverty line by making us pay for health care and pension, which are already funded in this budget, all without wage increases.

Council cannot leave 700 vacant positions instead of paying the workers that are already doing the work.

The city has 25 continuous recruitments because Oakland pays substandard wages, and HR refuses to address this proactively.

The city cannot blame a service deficit crisis on telework.

The problem is unwillingness to hire, pay, and retain city workers.

It's beyond time to chop from the top, less suits, more boots, hire more frontline workers.

Hold the administration accountable and department directors accountable for lack of service delivery hiring and needed solutions.

Ensure we have a line-by-line budget review process in place by the biannual.

Hire an expert to develop a retention plan for critical departments that have failed to do so themselves.

Rehire Beacon Economics to get a factual revenue projection and recommendations instead of relying on volunteers with no governmental service and some with conservative goals.

It seems voters will need you to be strong and effective by November.

Please do so by crafting a budget that reflects priorities you have all stated and values our workers and provide services the community desperately needs.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Andrea Ramirez.

I am a local 21 member and a employee through the planning and building department.

I'm a planner.

Starting out at ELDE, not really knowing like my future with the city of Oakland for a really long time until just last year I became a regular full-time employee.

And now we're running into another issue where I might not be able to like make the cost of living that it takes to stay in Oakland.

Um I have issues with the fact that um uh sorry.

Um I have issues with the fact that like you're trying to take away our health care as it is.

Um, even though you are considering these cuts, they are a cut from my paycheck.

They do affect me long term, they affect how I like participate in the city and as a resident, and good afternoon, Elliot Goodrich.

I'm here to make it very clear why 200 of your local 21 workforce showed up on Tuesday to express our anger.

The reason is that 40% of our members make less than what it takes to live comfortably in Oakland, and one in ten of our members live below the poverty line.

We showed up for those of our members receiving poverty wages whose needs are not being met.

And we know that the long-term fiscal health of our city does not require paying poverty wages or setting the compensation of Oakland workers behind our peers when we should be hiring the best and brightest to fill our hundreds of vacancies.

Not when $360 million dollars bought just 7,000 moving violations issued by OPD last year.

For reference, Oakland's speed camera program administered by local 21 staff issued eight 80,000 fines for egregious speeding in its first 40 days.

Thank you.

Local 21, city employee.

So what your presentation failed to mention is that this uh but balanced budget comes at the cost of multiple pay cuts for our employees.

No COLA, an additional cost for health care and additional costs out of retirement.

That's unacceptable.

It's a slap in the face of city workers when working overtime to try to deliver the services you guys want to provide.

We need to staff up.

We need to, you know, deliver the city services that our residents deserve.

And how do we do that?

Well, if I were going to balance my family's budget, I would look at the basic biggest expense, OPD.

It's always been OPD.

We urgently need you to stand up to OPOA and get back the overtime money and additional money that comes from overtime fraud and ineffective policing.

Give it to your staff.

Hire more people.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

My name is Jason Tubbs, and I'm a garden crew leader in the uh in the parks department in the city of Oakland.

I'm also a 1021 SEIU member and officer.

The budget includes funding for some services that will help us maintain and beautify the city parks.

We appreciate the amendments that use measure Q fund balance for staffing blitzes in the parks.

However, there needs to be a greater investment in hiring and recruiting to fill critical positions in parks.

Management can only hire ELDs and temporary workers because of the because they lack an HR analyst to process and screen for permanent positions.

There are currently 12 vacant positions in the parks department.

Without filling permanent positions and increasing wages, many dedicated employees are leaving the department worsening the staffing crisis.

We urge the council to prioritize permanent staffing so that the park workers can safely and effectively serve the public and maintain Oakland parks at the level our community expects.

Thank you.

I have to tell you, I think you have a very tough job.

And I'd like to thank you for supporting Mercy Brown bag in this budget and senior services specifically.

We have been serving low-income seniors in Oakland with healthy groceries for over four decades.

Now we serve over five thousand extremely low income seniors here in our city out of 45 distribution centers.

Food is essential for the quality of life.

Thank you, Councilwoman Fife.

We appreciate that support from sugar sweetened beverage funds, directly counteracting the impact of sugary beverages in this vulnerable generation.

As you consider expanding senior center services, I would really urge you to not rob Peter to pay Paul.

Do not go after other senior services in order to fund and support senior centers that are actually open for these seniors.

This is where we serve out of four of them.

So thank you very much.

I bow to you in this tough job you've got.

Just raise your hand, Keon.

Thank you.

Okay.

And what's your name?

Mina Kucchi.

Um, so my name is Mina Kucci, and I'm a resident of District 6 for the last four years, and prior to that, Oakland for 10 years.

Um, I reiterate all the points that have been made here today by the Coalition for Police Accountability and the Anti-Terror or anti-police terror project and our local union workers.

Additionally, to point out that OPD spent 31 million in overtime above last year's OPT overtime budget.

Financially, that is absolutely irresponsible and unacceptable, but let's consider the human side of that, right?

That means that our police officers that are in a public-facing role that requires a human to be constantly on high alert, observing their environment and being called to situations with unknowns, which can be mentally and physically exhausting, all while carrying a deadly weapon.

This level of overtime OPD is currently accruing does not allow them to get the adequate time off to rejuvenate and rest, to have work-life balance and be their mind, body, and souls for their family.

And it's just incredibly irresponsible to put someone that's at that state of exhaustion on the front lines dealing with our community.

And so for that reason, I call that that money should be going to our local workers and other community service programs and allowing our police force to be at their best and not working to cure exhaustion.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Council members.

My name is Dr.

Aisha Mays, and I'm the CEO and founder of the Dream Youth Clinic right here in Oakland.

Over 50% of the youth that we serve at Dream are directly impacted by sex trafficking.

And this January, we opened the first mobile clinic for sex trafficked youth in Oakland and in the country directly serving young people impacted by sex trafficking.

We're right on International Boulevard.

We are wholeheartedly in favor of Council Member Wong's critical budget amendment to hire dedicated administrative staff to collect the sex trafficking fines from the human trafficking survivor support fund ordinance that the city council already passed.

I've been working with young people impacted by trafficking for my entire career, and this is the first time I've seen perpetrators being held accountable for the trafficking of young people.

These funds can also directly support the DVP applicants who did not receive funding on this first round to support their critical work as well.

This is how we in human trafficking.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Council members.

My name is Carla Guerra.

I'm here on behalf of the Unity Council and Affordable Housing Developer in Oakland.

This is my colleague Paul from a real estate development team.

First of all, we want to thank uh Councilmember Fife and the members of the Council budget team.

Council members Unger, Ramachandran, Brown, and Jenkins for your leadership in proposing amendments to include $15 million in measure U funding for a portable housing this year.

We urge all council members to support these amendments.

On another note, we also want to thank all of you and Mayor Lee for your support to the Oakland Fruitville San Antonio Senior Center in Oakland's Latinx Cultural Arts District, where low-income and monolingual seniors face unique social and language challenges every day.

Years ago, when the city partnered with the Unity Council to develop the Fruitville Transit Village, there was an agreement that the site will include a senior center to serve the diverse monolingual and bilingual seniors living in the Fruitville neighborhood.

Your continued support is a reflection of that initial agreement.

So we are in support as well of opening all senior centers full time without impacting the other ones.

Thank you so much.

Good afternoon.

I am having time seated by Wilma Okunafua and Don Soria.

I'm Lorraine Soria, and on behalf of the members of the downtown Oakland Senior Center, I urge you to find a way to open the senior centers full time without cutting the asset program, senior aids, and other senior services.

Senior centers are vital community hubs.

They provide multiple services that support a vulnerable portion of Oakland's population.

Almost 40% of Oakland's seniors are economically insecure, and nearly 40% are food insecure.

Our centers provide free or low cost resources such as tax preparation, housing assistance, and programs such as Mercy Brownbag and Spectrum Hot Meals.

Just as importantly, they provide a safe place for exercise, socialization, and connection.

Many seniors live alone.

Loneliness and isolation lead to increased rates of dementia, depression, high blood pressure, stroke, and stress.

Having a safe place to spend time with friends, have a meal, exercise, andor get help with vital services matters.

We are grateful that our centers remained open this past year, but hours were cut, and the limited staffing and hours aren't safe or sustainable.

I'm grateful that there's funding for four days.

Reduced hours created a lot of stress.

Members were forced to choose between classes and services, jammed into the morning hours, and reduced hours made it difficult for some seniors to get to the center and made parking more difficult.

If seniors can't park, they won't come.

New bike lanes around our center also reduced street parking and removed the bus stop in front of the center, forcing members to cross a busy thoroughfare to access the closest bus stop, creating an unsafe situation for the mobility challenged.

While our centers must be open full time five days a week to support our senior population that cannot come at the expense of other senior services.

The mayor's budget unacceptably cuts 10 part-time senior aides in the assets program.

These positions benefit seniors who need gainful employment, to keep a roof over their heads, food on their tables, and get medical and SNAP benefits.

These positions provide critical support to our centers and other city programs and help seniors remain productive.

Funding for other contracted senior services like meals on wheels, Mercy Brown bag, and Spectrum Lunch Services must also be protected and preserved.

These services serve the most vulnerable among us.

Please restore our full senior center hours, maintain the contracted senior services, and fund the senior AIDS program.

Seniors matter.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Council members.

Thank you.

My name is Dagmar Sorota, and I'm a member of the advisory board for Mercy Brownbag, which provides healthy groceries to some of Oakland's most vulnerable seniors.

85% of our clients tell us that the groceries they receive from us keep them housed because the money they save can go to paying for rent and for utilities.

I'm here to support the budget item that uses money raised by the sugar sweetened beverage tax to support Mercy Brownbag in its efforts to fight hunger and by extension homelessness.

Thank you for including seniors and senior services in your budget.

Good afternoon, Council members.

My name is Blake Spears.

I'm president of the board of SOS Meals and Wheels and Vice Chair of the Mayor's Commission on Aging and a 48-year resident of the city of Oakland.

I'm here today to urge you to find a way to use dollars from the general fund to open senior centers full-time five days a week without cutting the asset programs, senior aids, or other senior services.

Social isolation and loneliness and older adults are critical health risks.

The Center for Disease Control indicates that isolation increases dementia risk by 50%, 30% increase in the risk of heart disease or stroke, and an elevated risk of premature death.

The senior centers or community hubs that provide a place for seniors to socialize, learn about resources, and develop life and risky.

Life-enriching relationships.

Thank you all for your supportive Meals and Wheels where we too live.

Good afternoon.

Charlie Detterline is on Zoom and he would like to cede his time to me.

Is that okay?

Charlie, are you ceding your time?

I certainly am.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thanks, Charlie.

Kim Olson, SOS Meals on Wheels.

On behalf of our volunteer staff and the nearly 1,400 seniors that we serve each year in Oakland.

We want to thank the mayor for continuing to fund senior services for CBOs like ours in the proposed budget.

To be clear, SOS holds two contracts with three funding streams through the city.

That's through Measure BB, the general fund for the meals and sugar sweetened beverage tax.

It's a bit of a patchwork, but altogether, those make sure that we're able to provide the 260,000 meals that we will deliver to seniors for a year.

And those of you who have I've had the honor of taking on ride-alongs, you know that what we bring is so much more than a meal.

It's a vital wellness check and a connection for our neighbors who are not able to get out.

The seniors that we serve are in Oakland, 91% of them are classified as extreme poverty levels.

That's 30% below the area average.

They mostly uh live about half of them live alone, and they're not able to get out to the grocery store or when times are tight, get to a food pantry and get extra food for themselves.

Um, with these contract funds, we're going to be able to make sure that we'll continue our services through next year without having to consider uh dropping any of those folks off of our program.

But we don't do this alone, and that's really the reason that we're here.

We rely on a strong network of senior support services in Oakland, and senior centers are the heart of those services.

Uh they keep our seniors strong and healthy and thriving.

So they don't need our services, you know, till further on down the road.

So with the senior coalition partners, we're here to ask for funding to continue to open senior centers for five days a week, reinstate the assets program, but please don't do that at the cost of any of the other senior services.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

My name is Susan Hammer, and I've been a resident of District One since 1983.

First, I would like to thank the mayor and the council for uh keeping the senior centers open and also attempting to extend the hours.

This is something we need.

My primary reason for speaking is to urge you to provide funding to open the senior dinners five days a week, like they used to be.

But this should not come at the expense of the proposed 174,000 cut to funding and staffing for the senior aids and the assets program.

You know, staff that makes this city work.

The senior centers, you know, we're gonna be limited to four days a week.

The nine to one, that's not working for us.

Please at least extend the hours.

The senior centers are a valuable asset, whether it's for exercise, craft classes, and all the other educational uh presentations, which you might not get otherwise.

And I know I'm running out of time.

Hi, um, my name is Deborah Britt, and I'm a member of the West Oakland Senior Center.

Good afternoon, council members, and thank you for this opportunity to speak on behalf of the West Oakland Senior Center.

As we all know, the center has been closed longer than expected, and I'm here begging that you open our center soon.

We are losing members to death, illnesses, because the center was a place they could come and socialize, exercise, and show their creativity.

Please, please, consider opening the West Oakland Senior Center.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Nina Bridges.

I am 82 years old.

I want to talk.

I want to talk about West Oakland Senior Center.

Really, I want to talk about all the centers.

We need to have a place that we could feel safe to go to do all types of exercise to maintain our health and keep us looking young.

All right.

And a place to go where we can talk to other seniors.

The seniors have worked half of their lives, taking raising their children, working, and paying taxes.

And we now need a safe place to go.

Thank you.

I'm Charles Bathier, and I'm from the West Oakland Citizen Center.

And I just want to um mention that we like to keep our four center directors for all the centers, West Oakland, North Oakland, and Downtown Center Center.

And also for administrative assistance.

We like to keep them on.

And then also for labor custodian in order for the to have the center open.

So thank you very much.

Hi, good afternoon, Alyssa Dennis.

I'm here to encourage you to support the amendments for 50 million of the NGU bond funds for affordable housing as it's presented in the team in the budget team and council number five's um amendment recommendations.

You know, the long pipeline of projects that need to get funded right now.

Last month was Affordable Housing Month.

And I don't know if other might have attended events, but I know that Council Member Guy was there at the grand opening of Flicker Flickerboard Homes International and 30th.

I was never underheaded the hard hat tour of uh of along Philip Commons and West Oakland in uh in MacArthur Bart area.

Um, those those properties just came online uh and they're they're offering uh housing that towards the lowest income levels up to sort of families with with uh with low income levels of support.

Um we have I know about with at least four projects that are also coming online, districts two and three and six um in the next few months.

And it's it's critical that they we continue the pipeline.

It's gonna be new city new state funds, I should say, um, coming out this year.

And the only way Oakland's gonna get a share of those state funds is like putting investing in in money in the project right now.

So please go put the hi.

Um my name is Naticia Leon, and I am here on behalf of Love Never Fails.

I was um I am a survivor of sex trafficking myself.

I have been in recovery for the past 11 years, and part of those past 11 years, I have worked as a network engineer in a major tech company.

I've been rebuilding my life and trying to claim it back, and so I um as it was mentioned that the 94 arrests could have accumulated some funding for these resources, such as Love Never Fails to help survivors like myself gain back our lives into the community and be present.

So I'm just asking for that one person to make a difference for that paralegal position and to help us and get our voices back instead of keeping the duct tapes on our mouths.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

My name is Karen Roy, and I am an Oakland resident for over 35 years.

I support the council budget team's emphasis on ongoing analysis of structural deficit, transparency, and accountability.

Oakland's fiscal challenges did not develop overnight, and they will not be solved in a single budget cycle.

As the city makes difficult decisions, I encourage continued focus on measurable outcomes, regular public reporting, and oversight of taxpayer investments.

Residents deserve to know not only what we spend, but what results we achieve.

Fiscal responsibility, transparency, and public trust must go hand in hand.

And I would like to thank the chair and the members for your fine work.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Council members.

My name is Ben Gould, and I'm speaking as an individual.

I really appreciate the efforts by the budget working group to incorporate the budget advisory commission's recommendations into these proposed amendments.

However, as noted by the chair, these amendments still rely on some creative interpretations to achieve their goals.

In particular, I'm concerned about the proposed approach to meet measure queue's maintenance of effort requirements.

These amendments do not use general purpose fund money to maintain parks funding as intended in the measure.

Instead, they use existing unspent measure queue dollars from previous years to meet the maintenance of effort requirements.

While we absolutely need to spend down the measure queue fund balance, doing so to meet the mains of effort requirement, clearly was not the intent of the voters, and there may be a technical loophole here to qualify it, but I would not recommend claiming that we truly honor the intent of the measure in this case.

In addition, these proposed amendments do include one-time use of fund balances from restricted funds to fund ongoing new positions.

I think that should be communicated clearly and transparently.

As the council president noted, these positions will be a continuous draw on the budget, requiring over a million dollars annually in either new revenues or other ongoing cuts.

Unless these are identified specifically as temporary term limited positions, this practice should not be considered in compliance with the city's consolidated fiscal policy.

I would recommend you either identify ongoing revenues to support these new staff positions or clearly develop them as term-limited temporary positions.

Thank you.

My deceased mother, Esmeralda Abelina Grant, a registered nurse from Bellevue Hospital and a Kaiser Hospital Nurse Practitioner when she was alive.

We both are members of the Grand Avenue Senior Center.

We love it.

She paid for all her meals volunteer rather than accept money for her services.

She loves serving coffee, tea, and etc.

on the ground floor of the senior center.

She paid for all her lunches.

She would be sad to learn the center is serving financial is suffering financial uh hardship.

Thank you very much.

Hi, my name is Alma Sidego.

I'm the executive director of global communication, education and art in the African Resource Center.

Thank you for council members.

I'm sorry, I don't have card for you for this item.

Maybe you sign up for open forum.

This is items four and five.

Yeah.

So we we're not getting have a chance to speak.

You we're on the I think believe you're on open forum.

This is items four and five.

I don't have a card for you for this item.

So again, we're on items four and five.

If we don't have a card for you for this item, you may have signed up for open forum.

If you sign up for items four and five, please approach the podium.

After that, we'll be going to the Zoom speakers.

I didn't see anybody addressed than five.

For the fourth time in a fourth year in a row, you are participating in an unanticipated financial emergency issue.

This means you are suspending multiple voter approved mandated items in order to divert that money to the general purpose fund.

You're talking about 33.9 million dollars and restricted funding would be diverted for other purposes other than the purposes for measure N, Measure W, Measure Q, Measure H.

You're divided you're also diverting money from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

Nobody got up here and talked about that.

That's serious.

Now I'm not gonna tell you where to spend money, but I know I'm here on a regular basis to say the way you manage your money is an issue.

I'm looking at the parking that is free at the ice rink that they say they paying for.

I have never seen you produce a document that shows we're getting revenue from the uh ice rink.

Uh, you're saying that you have the Feather River Camp situation, and I'm worried about how much money we invested in that.

The friends of the Lincoln Park Rec Center.

You're paying for the whole rec center would measure you money when they came to you to ask to pay for it themselves, but you now paying for giving money to the Lincoln Rec Center instead.

You spent 400,000 to renovate the roots facility from our money for the city.

When Alan, the city of Alameda and the City of Berkeley were supposed to contribute as well.

You did all of the spending.

Uh you have no report that have been given since 2023 on the city administrators' ability to spend up to 250,000.

The next report is March 2027.

Uh you're giving property away that property over there that you gave to uh the arts center, they have turned that into their own property.

You said when you gave the property to them temporarily that it would be available for housing in 2027.

It's not gonna happen.

Thank you, Miss Olabala.

If your name was called for items four and five, please approach the podium.

We have not gotten to open forum.

It will be after the discussion, so we can allow this the folks who signed up for four and five to approach the podium.

Those of you who signed up for open forum, it will be called after the items four and five for a discussion.

Come on up.

If your name was called, I still go ahead.

Good evening, council members and others and all.

My name is Edwin Bergen.

I am from North Oakland Senior Center.

We wish to thank you for keeping the center open.

The center is very important to me because I have learned new things.

I receive information about services, services, and health, and I need to stay alive to help me stay alive and be healthy, such as exercise classes, playing bed with mingling with other people, physical health, his physical health, and socializing with other people.

Thank you very much.

Excuse me, please approach the podium if you can.

Otherwise, we do have a portable mic.

We will move to the Zoom speaker.

So I'm with Kevin Daly.

I have you for two cards.

You do have two minutes.

Please unmute yourself and begin your comments.

All right, this is Kevin Daly.

Why don't you start with uh a simple fix?

Uh parking meter repair is being cut while projected uh while the budget is projecting increased parking revenue.

Parking revenue is a three-legged stool.

You need enforcement collection and meter maintenance.

Without working meters, we won't meet the target for parking revenue.

Meter repair pays for itself.

Let's restore uh meter repair to the budget.

We also need to increase the parking uh parking dispatch positions to include evenings and weekends.

Otherwise we risk violating the ADA consent decree.

Parking dispatch allows anyone to report cars blocking, sidewalk, crosswalk, bike path, etc.

And quickly the enforcement will be sent out, but only if parking dispatch positions are fully funded.

Illegal parking happens on evenings and weekends in addition to weekdays.

To slightly address item five.

Um lit civilianized crash reporting with its current massive overtime crash reporting has the biggest police overtime cost that can be done very well by Oak Doc rather than sworn officers.

Thanks to Councilmember Wong for encouraging funding for quick build and red light cameras, and thanks to Councilmember Five for suggestion the use of bond proceeds to increase housing.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Moving to the next speaker for excuse me, Fatima Usa.

Please unmute yourself and begin your comments.

I have you with two cards for two minutes.

Hi, my name is Fatsma.

I'm a resident of district one and a member of OKL Advocates.

Um this year for the first time in several years.

The mayor's proposed budget would fully fund the Oakland public library, including the 14.5 million dollar maintenance of effort written into the most recent library revenue measure, measure C.

This represents a funding increase from last year, which if enacted will help pay for key service enhancements, um, like more library staff to deliver services, 150,000 more for library materials budget, and a new safety pilot program for the main and MLK locations.

Um, and we are grateful to the mayor for supporting robust library services for all Oakland residents.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments moving to Omar Rivera.

I have you with one card.

Please unmute yourself and begin your comments.

Uh good afternoon, council members.

My name is Omar Rivera.

I am speaking of app these days and local development corporation.

I strong support of Council Member 5's budget amendments include 50 million dollars in reserve funding for affordable housing.

At a time when housing costs continue to rise and state and federal housing resources remain uncertain.

Local funding like measure you is more important than ever.

Uh, he just completed construction on one of the first reserve funded projects at 121 East 12th Street.

And we're close to completing our Lake Merit Park Station uh development, which is also funded by Measure U.

Every local dollar invested in affordable housing leverages additional public and private funding.

So including these measure dollars in the next console affordable housing funding will ensure that the projects uh currently in the city's pipeline can move forward and that future opportunities are not lost.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Moving to Blair Beekman, I have you with two cards.

Please unmute yourself and begin your comments.

Hi, thank you.

Uh Blair Beekman.

Thanks a lot for this item and for the uh public uh comment today.

Um it's nice uh here on a Friday afternoon.

Um interestingly, for these type of meetings in the future, maybe it could be better uh uh scheduled for the early evening.

Uh and get more people, I would guess.

There's certainly a more regular time that more people could arrive and and make their case.

Um, but good to hear people today.

Um, you know, meet with me being from San Diego, we are finally at the end of our budget issues.

I spoke every day, every public meeting, uh, on the importance of the work that you do here in Oakland towards uh managing and balancing the budget uh with the needs of social services and how it's so important in Oakland to work on social services first.

We were practicing austerity in San Diego and we're r ready to make very severe budget cuts to basic programs that are just vital to you know health and human services.

We are working through that, and I think we're learning important lessons from Oakland.

So thank you.

I hope what you're doing at this time continues the efforts of our previous city council, who I think we have to always give a uh a great respect to and what they were striving and working towards, and even former mayor town, who I think uh coordinated their efforts very well, that we have a budget plan that although as Ms.

uh Alabala mentioned can be difficult and has its uh issues, we are in a place to definitely address our social services first and that we continue those efforts, and then from that we address the the budget deficit uh concerns and how you navigate that with this new council, a real good luck to yourselves.

It's a really important task.

You're trying to do it.

Um, thank you.

That's all I can say at this time.

Just thank you.

Thank you, Biller Beakman.

Moving to Jennifer Finley, please unmute yourself and begin your comments.

Hi, good afternoon.

I will keep this brief.

I just wanted to say that there are two things going on right now that are at historic lows.

We have historically low level of sworn officers, and we have historic low levels of crime.

This has been going on for the last couple of years.

It's been um ever decreasing both numbers.

You know what isn't decreasing?

Police oversight.

What's new right now is that they're talking about just getting out of the NSA.

Get um and no longer having the federal monitor.

Then we need to fund the police commission.

We need you to stop trying to s uh conspire and take the police commission apart.

We need to have them fully funded.

We need to have them um with positions filled so that we can continue to have some oversight of police and not have things fall apart if we get out of the NSA with somehow no police commission.

Um also just thank you, Councilmember Fife, for bringing um forward the uh films and gardens initiatives.

I'm happy to hear both of them.

Um I actually volunteer over at uh one of the libraries for the gardens and absolutely love it there.

It's always always happy to see uh somebody come through and um find a strawberry or something there to eat it uh they're absolutely delighted.

Um, two very different parts of my comment.

Thanks very much.

Thank you, Miss Finley, for your comments.

Elizabeth Madrigal, did you submit a card?

If so, under what name?

Yes.

I do not have a card for you for this item or open forum.

It should be.

I submitted one and got confirmation yesterday.

C.

Did you submit a card?

If so, under what name?

Hello?

Yes.

Did you submit a speaker's card?

If so, under what name?

Charles Idelson.

I do have a card for you.

I have one card for one minute.

Please begin your comments.

Thank you.

When the council members are running for office, you said you would support independent oversight of the police.

It stops corruption and saves money.

Or did you think we wouldn't notice the details?

Every cut, every interference, every attack.

We see you, your budget proposal show your agenda.

You want to cut 200,000, you want to cut 200,000 dollars that gets police officers up paid administrative leave sooner.

You want to cut a position in the inspector general's office while you complain he's not doing enough, even though you only give 30% of the funding.

You fund a position under the control of the city administrator instead of genuine independent oversight.

Examine the OPD budget with the same energy you use to wage war on independent police oversight.

That's not acceptable.

Attacks on transparency and oversight feed a low public trust in Oakland politicians.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you for your comments.

At this time, our names have been called.

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

If we could grant an exception to any individuals that signed up for open forum, mistakenly, but meant to comment on item four or five if they could be given their time here.

Thank you.

But I was outside.

Okay, what's your name?

Wendy Peterson?

Yes.

Abby with one card for one minute.

Um good afternoon, council members.

I'm Wendy Peterson with the Senior Services Coalition.

Um we appreciate the mayor's and the council's support for a budget that protects funding for contracted senior services and aging services in general.

We appreciate that the mayor's budget increases the number of hours that senior centers are open four days a week, but we really need five five days a week.

I think you've heard that.

Um, worse, the budget accomplishes these extra hours by robbing Peter to pay Paul by eliminating vacant positions for two recreation specialists and ten part-time senior aides in the senior assets program.

Jobs that are sorely needed now by older adults who need gainful employment and they also need to fulfill new job requirements for CalFresh and Medi-Cal.

We urge you to find a way to open the senior centers five days a week, to unfreeze the senior age positions, and keep your obligations for contracted CBOs who are helping to keep older Oaklanders safe and healthy.

Um I urge you to fully fund aging services.

Thank you.

So again, if you signed up for open forum, the chair has allowed you to speak on the budget.

All right, please approach the podium if you submitted a card.

Let me just ask for excuse me.

I have a minute for public comment that I'd like to give them.

They do excellent work, it's really important.

You don't want to hear me again.

We can hear you again.

You can advocate for us.

Okay, honey.

Uh-huh.

So because I signed up for open forum, there is no seating of time.

The chair has been gracious enough to allow you this time.

So you do have one minute to address the council.

Okay.

Thank you, council members.

My name is Alma Sidego.

I'm the, you know, uh GCA executive director.

I'm from the African Resource Center.

I've been fighting for the African community for 11 years, and then you never seen any African person come here and asking for funding.

So the center is our senior center.

The center is our immigrant center.

The center is our housing space that we get everything on that center.

So we have 23 houses under our organization that is transitional housing.

So we need support.

We did it with our community, African communities.

You don't see any Africans come here, ask for funding.

But now we're going to ask for funding because it's been difficult for us dealing with our community with all this criminal activities happening in the city.

With our housing the problems, like you know, we have to come with our own initiative to have transitional housing under our organization, 20 city houses.

So now we're asking you to support our initiative.

You know, uh we asking help.

We asking help.

You don't see any African person coming here.

And um, good afternoon.

My name is uh Dr.

Veronica Fouebunet here for the African Immigrants Community Stabilization and Healing Initiative supportive.

I am here with GCEA, which is the Global Communication Education and Arts, African Resource Center Center.

We continue to serve Oakland's African immigrant population, and we're asking the city to work with DCEA ARC to secure protect and heal its community by establishing a three-year African immigrant community stabilization and healing initiative in the amount of five point seven million dollars.

Today, African immigrant communities are one of the fastest growing segments of Oakland's Black population.

Yet Oakland's contracting and procurement history shows that African American firms have received less than one percent of professional services contracting dollars, while African-owned firms appear to be completely invisible in the city's procurement data.

This pattern raises a serious equity question.

If communities are not seen, how can they be meaningfully invested in the council members?

My name is Desmond Jeffries, also advocating for GCA, also known as the African Resource Center.

African immigrant families are navigating through violence, trauma, housing instability, language barriers, immigration challenges, and growing uncertainty around access to health care, food assistance, and employment authorizations.

These pressures affect the community safety and family stability.

The African Resource Center responds to these needs every day through legal navigation, medical medical enrollment, calfresh assistance, workforce support, civic engagement, housing stabilization services.

Last year alone, the African Resource Center served more than 1,700 individuals, reached over 25,000 community members, and house 84 individuals and help more than 900 people access medical enrollment and re enrollment.

Please help the African Resource Center.

I'm here to upload GCEA because African immigrant families need trusted cultural responsive healing support in Auckland.

Many families carry trauma from war, displacement, pre-seclusion, family separation, racism, and community violence.

But mental health services are often hard to access because of language barriers, stigma, and lack of cultural familiar providers.

GCEA already has the trusted trust of the community.

That is why I support GCEA's request for a cultural responsive therapist, LEGO next to and community case managers.

Investing in GCEA means investing in healing, prevention, and safety for Oakland's African immigrant community.

Thank you.

Hello, how are you this time?

And I hope you are, I wish you the best.

We are here, all of us for something.

Gather here for something so we can improve Oakland at large.

Our community African, we live in the East, East, deep east.

We live in the West.

We live in Northern and Central downtown.

Today I am speaking from my deepest of my heart.

I have lived in Oakland 30 years.

In North Oakland, 25 years.

I do not drive.

I see Oakland in its beauty, cultural over 40 years have developed into multi-culture that we are part of this.

Simply mean I am because we are.

We embody.

Thank you, ma'am.

Your time is up.

Thank you, ma'am.

Your time is expired.

Good afternoon.

My name is Dr.

Joy.

I am here to uplift GCEA because it is one of the trusted organizations.

African immigrants, immigrant families start to do.

When our communities experience crisis, loss and fear.

The death of Aaron Ayo deeply impacted the Eritrean and broader East African community.

His hanging created grief, fear, and unanswered questions.

Many community members felt there was no meaningful public response from city leader leadership.

No visible outreach and no coordinated supports.

Except from council members, Jana Janani.

That silence showed why GCEA matters.

Violence prevents most.

Thank you, ma'am.

Your time is expired.

My name is Dr.

Jeffrey.

Because many families are struggling with housing, medical renewals, car fresh access, immigration fees, unemployment barriers, and changing federal policies.

DCA helped families navigate these systems through trusted relationships, language access, legal navigation, benefit support, and housing stabilization.

Stabilization.

Where families can stay house housed, access healthcare, feed their children, understand their rights, communities become safer.

We ask you, the city as a city, to invest in GCEA as part of Oakland's violence prevention infrastructure.

Thank you.

God bless.

Thank you for the gift of time, Council.

I'm not gonna read this.

I come before you as a servant who appreciates anyone who exercises due diligence to serve with a greater good.

And this organization beyond a shadow of doubt is exemplary of being due diligent and manifesting.

When we deal with domestic violence, domestic violence is inequities, it is disparities, it is a lack of funding to provide fundamental things that we deserve as human beings.

Right now, if you guys do not render funding to support this organization, you would have unintentionally perpetrated domestic violence that creates emotional turbulence that seeks the overall trajectory of Oakland that we do not want to manifest and want to circumvent that can be circumvented by partnering and collaborating with this Panama organization that helps citizens navigate the terrain and become stable and complementary contributory citizens who dwell here for the greater good.

Please support this organization.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you for your comments.

Moving back to Elizabeth Madrigal.

We found your card.

Please unmute yourself and begin your comments if Elizabeth Madrigal please unmute yourself and begin your comments can you hear me wonderful good afternoon my name is Elizabeth Madrigal and I'm a policy manager with MidPen Housing for a nonprofit developer manager and provider of affordable housing and on site residence services throughout the northern part of the state in the city of Oakland we have 469 homes and five properties along with eighty eight more in the pipeline at 1707 Wood Street and Councilmember 5's district we applaud the amendments have been put forth by council president jenkins as well as council members Ramachandran Unger Brown and Fife to add 50 million measure you bond funds for affordable housing our team great greatly appreciates unwavering support this council has demonstrated and continues to demonstrate for affordable housing thank you thank you for your comments Christopher Powell please unmute yourself and begin your comments.

Good afternoon thank you my name is Chris Powell and I represent outfront foster inner state today you are balancing a budget shortfall including cutting services that will impact communities served by the Native American Health Center Asian Health Services La Clinica de la Raza and Baywell Health yet next Tuesday you will be asked to allow Becker boards an Arizona based company to renegotiate its billboard deal in a way that cuts guaranteed funding to those same clinics by two thirds you cannot cut services today and then pull funds from the nonprofits that fill the gap next week this has direct budget consequences for Oakland and it deserves a full committee hearing and independent audit and financial review not a rush consent vote next week that shields an out of state company's profit margins from public scrutiny further it is publicly known that Becker may be selling its Oakland assets at some point so all of Becker's empty promises and goodwill are likely worth less than they appear so please keep that in mind next week on June 16th.

Thank you for your comments Leslie Smith please unmute yourself and begin your comments.

Hi my name is Leslie Smith I'm a commissioner with the mayor's commission of aging I urge you to find a way to open senior centers fully and uh without affecting the assets programs for seniors aids and other senior services making older adults a priority for Oakland social connections are a heartbeat of human existence when we don't provide an opportunity for social connections we have loneliness leading to more illness and dying younger how tragic it would be to spend millions on health emergencies social crises mental breakdowns and necessarily when we have the solution before us I urge you to find a way to open the senior centers full time without cutting the the senior aides or the other senior services thank you very much.

Thank you for your comments just so there's no one miss I'm going to read the names of the remaining cards who have not approached the podium if you're on zoom raise your hand if you are in chambers and you wish to speak please approach the podium.

Pamela Drake Catherine Sternbeck Abra Levine Mary Veron Faith Kirkpatrick if your name was called if you're in the room or in on Zoom please approach the podium or raise your hand otherwise at this time all names have been called all speakers have spoken thank you.

Okay thank you.

I would like to proceed first with the vote of item five which is the declaration of fiscal necessity before returning to item four which are the amendments if council colleagues are open to that I will make a motion to move.

With the friendly amendment to remove measure any reference to measure U as our um amendment all amendment proposals on the table um fulfill the requirements uh for Measure U for this fiscal year.

Sorry.

Yes friendly amendment accepted thank you my apologies one moment while I find there we go and there was for item number five there was a motion by council president jenkins seconded by council member five to approve item five as amended as stated um by the chair Ramachandra in removing any reference to measure q on roll council member brown aye council member five aye council member guy no I have we'll have six unions that we have to negotiate with and also we haven't addressed the issue why do I have eight hundred and thirty eight vacancies today when I approved those a year ago thank you so my vote is no with the no vote from council member guile council member houston yes council member uh unger yes council member wong yes and uh council member council president jenkins aye and chair Ramachandran aye item number five is approved with seven ayes and one no that as amended um that now takes us to item back to item number four thank you council president jenkins yeah so this is my fourth year on council on senior member of city council and just absolutely embarrassed that our seniors have to come here and do the song and dance every single year and so it's absolutely imperative that we find a long term funding um source so that we can support our seniors in their golden years and council member hewson I want to just absolutely applaud you for um wanting to extend the hours every single year they come here every single year and we we do this again and again and again and I think it's time for us to put our heads together and figure out how we can support our seniors going forward.

So with that I want to change the allocation of the sugar sweetened beverage from 2500 to OUSD to fifty thousand dollars going to OUSD and two hundred thousand dollars going to support our seniors and we need to continue to work to support our seniors oh secondarily secondarily secondarily secondarily please uh for those speaking out of attorney or out of order please respect the the speaker yeah when the seniors were here it was clap clap clap clap clap but secondarily we need to take care of democracy dollars and we need to figure out what we're gonna do with it because every year the fiscal necessity is going to be a challenge and we need to figure out are we going to fund the 4 million dollars a year or are we going to go back to the voters and figure out a long-term funding source so it's imperative for us to work on that thank you chair thank you um to yes uh council member heuston through through the the chair um this is a real difficult situation or just it's hard work it's hard work what we have to do we have to make decisions council member five said something to me that you know she cares about the seniors um I care about the seniors and and you care about the seniors we care about our children right and and council member brown and they worked hard on this and you have council member genani and unger you guys worked hard on this right and it's it's it's a balance it's a balance and it's like the school should not be our problem but it is, right?

And and I went to councilmine, and I'm saying that it might be because I went there and I graduated from there and I see the roads in front of my school.

It's just horrible, right?

It's horrible.

It's it's embarrassing to say that I went to that school, but I'm gonna stand 10 toes down and continue to say I went there.

I'm purple night all day long, East Oakland.

So when I say that, when I say that, it's very, very difficult.

Um, but I'm gonna take your lead, you know, because we all we're working together, we're working together.

Like Councilmember Fife said we should be doing this for the seniors.

Is she right?

And um is fifty thousand dollars enough to do that that that water fountain.

I guess that you know, but being a plumber by trade, I'm gonna have to get over there and help and solder some pipe and put some stuff in, and I will do that too, just like I'll move cars and stuff off the streets, right?

I ain't scared.

So I thank everyone and I thank you, Councilmember Brown for working so hard on everything.

I, uh Janani, Councilmember and Unger and and Councilmember Fife, thank you for just you know putting that in my ear.

I appreciate it because we gotta protect our our seniors to the max, right?

So thank you for giving me that opportunity to speak.

Thank you, Councilmember Fife and Wong.

I I do want to follow up through the chair to uh Director Johnson because I asked you a little while earlier.

I wanted to find out if you got the information about the assets program.

Because I I did challenge council member Houston, and I recognize the complicated nature of managing city finances, and I pushed him by saying the Oakland Unified School District has a budget, they pass a facilities bond, and they I don't know how they're managing those facilities.

McClyman's just today is breaking ground.

I missed their um brown breaking ceremony for their facilities project that has been stalled for years.

So I don't know, 2020, I don't know what is happening with OUSD, but it is unconscionable that our babies are drinking lead and we wonder why they're fighting at First Friday, right?

And at the same time, we need to hold OUSD accountable for what they're doing with their budget.

Councilmember Guile talks about it all the time.

So while we're in a budget crisis, I find it very difficult to support financially what other public agencies are doing if they're if they're mismanaging their budgets.

I'm I'm troubled by that.

And I know I heard our seniors, I had two senior centers here.

I am the elected representative of the downtown Oakland Senior Center and the West Oakland Senior Center.

West Oakland has not been opened, it it's so behind schedule.

And they're talking about not being able to feed seniors.

I'm concerned about the senior food program, and hopefully the program I'm putting together today, the pilot program will be able to help assist with getting food out to these seniors.

It's the fastest growing population in the city of Oakland, and we are not serving them.

So even though 250,000, 200,000 is a drop in the bucket, it's more than they anticipated getting today.

And so I want to see what we can do to support those seniors, and then we need to go back to the school board, and we might need to be going to some school board meetings and meeting with our counterparts for district three and district seven about how our our babies are being served.

Thank you, Council.

Thank you.

Councilmember Wong, then Councilmember Houston.

I apologize, Chairman.

Thank you.

Um, one small but substantive amendment.

I um also wanted to make just looking through the full pack.

I'm sorry, that was my fault.

Um please raise your hand again.

Thank you.

Um so for this is for page 14 on uh measure you, the uh the bond proceeds going to affordable housing, which I'm totally on board with.

I just want to add a small amendment to say affordable housing, um, in addition to interim shelter, um, because these are the rapidly deployable projects.

You know, this is these are the motel conversions, these are the things that can get people indoors quickly, and I just want to ensure that uh measure you has interim shelters and uh the capital for interim shelters and eligible expense.

I just want to make sure that our amendments reflect that and leave that um open as a possibility.

Councilmember Houston.

Do the chair, mine's just a comment, and I'm gonna say this.

I like working with all you guys.

I really do.

Ladies and gentlemen, I really like and enjoy it, and I like what uh council member of President Bush me.

I like being challenged, Councilmember Fife, because it it helps me grow.

No, it helps me grow.

I appreciate everybody.

That's what I like to say now.

Thank you, Councilmember Hughes and Councilmember Brown.

Excellent.

Um I did have an inquiry um to the finance director about um the public speakers mentioning the reduction in I think it was 10 senior aids, I think under the assets assets program.

Can we get some more clarity on that one?

Um I believe maybe it's a federally funded program.

Um, but if you just wanted to state on the record, yes, so the the asset program is a federally funded program, and it's in some sense being impacted by that.

There was an add delete proposed.

I got the full details on this, and this is also to Councilmember Fife's question, which I know she asked me.

I think a chance to there was a proposal by human services to add delete some of those positions for an admin assistant position, and that was done in the budget.

So there's no net reduction from that.

However, adding back the assets program should you wish to do it would be at a cost of 175,000.

Okay, excellent.

Thank you so much.

And then I think also um just wanted to say out loud that as we were working so diligently on the budget, um, one of the things that was really identified uh when looking for ongoing sources of revenue.

Um we found gaps in providing ongoing um revenue to our senior centers, recreational centers, and also technology.

Um, so through the chair to Bradley, is that correct?

Did I hit that um spot on where those gaps were?

Right, and so then um on that note, then then those things continue to come from the general fund.

And so if we want to try to really holistically solve the shortfall that we continue to have with recreational centers, senior centers, and we all know that we need improved technology that that is our kind of our charge in the next year or so to figure out how to create an ongoing funding source for those things.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Um I would like to put forward a motion that combines several of the directives um and amendments set today.

I will first start with the policy directives to include um all of councilmember Fife's, um, the the two that was previously not included as well.

The amendment from Council Member Houston regarding senior centers and exploring funding, um, two minor amendments from the city administrator's office request um for the report on cultural facilities bond measure to come back in um October 2027 rather than May 2027.

Um an amendment for the report um on updates to the public safety committee on the set of silly civilianization to be at the very least twice a year.

Um and that would then those are the the part of my motion that references policy directive amendments.

The second part of my motion are amendments to the budget spreadsheet, and I'll start with 1010.

We would like to include um and actually K-TOP, are you able to put up the spreadsheet, please?

Or we will take a second to get that done.

Okay.

So these um if we can go, oh, do I have the quicker or yes?

Okay, so starting with the amendments to 1010.

Uh, we have we have a total of five changes from the published set of amendments on the budget team.

Um, first and foremost to amendment one, okay.

Okay, I can't scroll down so many.

So maybe I guess you can scroll on that screen for me.

It is the addition of council member Wong's position regarding human trafficking, um, an ELDE for human trafficking and other penalties for enforcement, a one-year position to assist with that enforcement.

That's the first amendment.

The second amendment in Fund 1010 as well is the increased funding for the film incentive funding program that would go towards administering a contract to an outside agency that is that is left at that for now.

Um the third amendment is on the sugar sweet beverage tax page.

If we can switch tabs, please.

I apologize.

That's uh that is there's a second amendment to the sugar sweet and beverage tax page, and that is rephrasing what council president just said moving $50,000 for a grant for OUSD for safe water access and in and adding $200,000 for senior wellness programs and other senior center related funding.

Um so that $250 that was originally to OUSD is being split up into $50 and 200 for for seniors.

Um the last the fifth amendment, if we can go to Measure Q page 2244.

Thank you.

And that is for also the recommendation from council member Fife for the garden program.

If we can scroll down a little to see that, thank you.

And that's um the garden um garden food pilot program ELDE.

Um, and because of the way measure Q funding works, there is a complementary increase and some of the other line items to stay in accordance with the mandate of Measure Q.

Um, so those are the five amendments to the spreadsheet and policy directives, and I will make that motion.

Second, yeah, please.

Oh, apologies, council member Fife.

No worries.

I would like to, if we can, and I know this meeting has gone on for quite some time.

Um I would like to understand what the body's desire is around civilian oversight, because I think we have to have a public conversation about whether we want it or we don't, and if we do, then the narrative needs to be clarified for the community because it appears that we are trying to eliminate it.

So my addition of the item um that is not included in the amendments is of deep concern to me.

And I I want to say that I'm deeply grateful for all of the additions that were made, especially my on the floor amendments that were made today.

Um, but this really is really difficult for me to accept the SIPRA item when I'm just adding back attempting to add back one position that was funded.

So I if if we could if I could get an understanding of how this body is thinking about fulfilling the mandated requirements of measure LL and the will of the voters, I would really appreciate that.

That could that's gonna help me understand how I should vote on this budget today.

So I I guess through the chair to Council President Jenkins.

So absolutely, and I have deep appreciation for what you were saying in civilian oversight as we are on the cusp of getting out of the um NSA.

I and I went to court and council member Houston was there, and the judge was wanting and raving about the mayor, the job cheap beer is doing, the job that our um constitutional policing administrator is doing.

Just absolutely ranting and waving.

And you're right, Oakland residence overwhelmingly support civilian oversight.

I think paramount to that, we have to be physical stewards with the taxpayer dollars and adding a position to CIPRA that with one-time funding would be a real challenge for me.

Uh I voted for a budget that included the Coliseum sale at one point in time, and that was one-time money that never materialized.

So if we're going to fund CIPRA, we should fund them.

We should find the funding source to absolutely fund CIPRA.

I absolutely agree with you.

But as I said before, the challenge is CIPRA has never hired as many positions as they're budgeted for.

Never.

So we add this position and there's still going to be vacancies there.

So there is some deep searching that we need to do with the CIPRA director to figure out how we better.

Because we have over 800 vacancies, and we don't apply that same logic to the vacancies in other departments, particularly the Oakland police department.

So if we're going to if we if we apply that same logic to say um open spaces for our training programs, then you know we wouldn't allow these vacancies to continue, or we would we would do more to ensure that academies were full.

And if not, then we wouldn't apply if we know that we're gonna have 10, 15, 17 cadets that actually graduate out of the police academies, then maybe we wouldn't budget as much for the police academies, and we could use those salary savings or those those budgetary savings in other places.

So if we're gonna and maybe the position is that some logic doesn't apply to other places that it does with some places, I'm not exactly sure, but it seems like it fluctuates depending on which department we're talking about.

We have a civilian population that is from their words not mine, on the verge of striking because we're not looking at all of the dollars equitably, and one department, and I I'm greatly appreciative of the leadership of Chief Beer because things have happened for vulnerable populations in my district that I haven't seen happen the entire time I've been in office.

I've had area captains lie, I've had them spread misinformation about council being responsible for certain things and others, and under uh Chief Beer's leadership, those things have changed.

So I recognize the importance of the roles that leadership and OPD plays and the role that they play in our um in Oakland, and at the same time, the scrutiny is not there in the same way that it is for other departments, and so while that is in question, I think we still need to hold space for for civilian oversight, and maybe this needs to be agendized for a public safety committee meeting.

Happy to do that, but if we're going to not do this in the budget today, then I need the assurances of this body that we are going to dig into what civilian oversight means for the city of Oakland in the few moving forward.

This is a mid-cycle.

I was conservative about my mid-cycle budget amendments because it's a mid cycle, it's not the biennial.

So I didn't go crazy, but you best believe, I swear to God, if y'all want my vote today, then I need a commitment from everyone around this dais that we're going to dive deep into the Oakland police department budget to figure out what we need to do differently.

So, Councilmember, uh, absolutely I would open uh would love the chance to uh work on that with you.

Uh, look deeply into our civilian oversight and uh consider myself knowledgeable about it and want to continue gaining knowledge on it, and so you have my commitment that I will work with you on looking at efficiencies within our biggest budget is OPD, and as long as we have ongoing revenue sources, I'm right there with you.

Can I get that commitment then from the chair of public safety and the vice chair of public safety as well?

You want it in writing?

I do want that in writing in blood.

Thank you.

Councilmember Wang.

Yeah, I mean, absolutely.

You you have my commitment.

Um I just I want to do it responsibly.

Um I want to do it in ways that um are not also going to drive away, you know, some of our, you know, just our our current staffing challenges, right?

And I want to make sure that we're able to do this in a way that um is just responsible.

But you have my commitment absolutely to do this.

Um, and uh yeah, I'll say that.

So let's talk after this.

Um, I also just have some questions.

I appreciate the budget team for the inclusion of the human trafficking amendment, but I do have questions around why my amendments around 2230 and 2416 are not included.

These are revenue uh sources that there's a there is revenue that remains in those sources, and so I need an explanation in order to earn my yes vote.

I really do, because I think traffic safety is absolutely public safety.

We cannot pretend like what's happening on our streets, the number of traffic collisions that are happening are are not a crisis, and I I need to understand why the funding allocations that are really around slowing down the driving, right?

With quick and urgence with quick and urgent ways to slow that down, uh, are not going to be included.

So I I need a response to that.

Thank you.

Are there any other speakers?

Councilmember uh Houston.

Yes, um, through the chair, I want to speak about what Councilmember Fife said as vice chair of public safety.

Educate me a little bit more.

Just I need more education on on civilian oversight.

I'm gonna talk to talk to you, talk to Rowena, we'll talk to everyone about it.

Even my city attorney, because he always gives me the good advice.

So uh, yes, uh uh uh I'll work with you.

Councilmember Gaio?

This evening.

Are we done voting on the four and five?

Because I mean, if we can talk, I remember I I have six unions we gotta settle with, and it's gonna cost us millions, and also I have eight hundred and some vacancies that we approved last year, but we never filled them.

Well, I can't get my streets cleansed, man.

I can't even buy my trucks, I can't take care of law enforcement to help me on the street.

But we're gonna sit here and do a lot more talking, and so I need to have a management budget that's clear before I start approving all these other things.

I'm gonna do this, do that over here.

Then I wind up once again with the public.

Well, I can't take care of your street because I don't have the money, and and I just don't want to make the mistake that other cities do they go bankrupt.

And we're right now discussing making agreements, but you don't know what you have in terms of money, because we haven't settled the biggest challenge, and that's gonna be settling your union contracts, fire department, police department, and all the other unions that we gotta settle, and that's not gonna be you know a 25 cents deal that we gotta f come up with.

We're gonna have to find out what can I do additionally for a service once I take care of my employees.

Call the question.

And so, anyway, so I'm ready.

There was a motion by Councilmember Ramachandra and seconded by council member Jenkins with the amendments read into record.

Councilmember Brown.

Aye.

Councilmember Fife.

Aye.

Councilmember Gayo.

Councilmember Houston.

Aye.

Councilmember Unger.

Aye.

Councilmember Wong.

Councilmember Wong.

She keeps pressing the button, so I can't unmute her.

Councilmember Wong.

I didn't get a response to my question.

And I just think that that is required for a truly inclusive process, so no.

Councilmember, Council President Jenkins and Council Member Ramachandran.

I motion passes with a vote of six ayes, two no's, Gaio, and Wong.

Moving to I apologize.

A note to uh miss to the parliamentarian.

Please please go ahead.

Okay, so just to clarify for the public, um, the way this final legislation will appear is that the amended uh budget spreadsheet that was displayed will show up as exhibit one to the resolution.

The uh mid-cycle policy directives that were printed up and um circulated will show up as exhibit two, and my office will make some technical edits to the resolutions to make sure that those exhibits are reflected.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We're on to council member announcements, and then after that, open forum.

And again, if you took your open forum comments during item four and five, your card has been removed.

Thank you.

No announcements.

Are there any council announcements?

If not, we can move to public speakers moving to open forum.

As I call your name, please oppose the podium in any order.

Please state your name for the record before beginning.

If you are on Zoom, please raise your hand so I can easily identify you.

Blair Beekman, Jennifer Finley, Barbara Tanjiri, Kevin Daly, Miss Asada Olabala, Millie Cleveland, Annx, Pamela Drake, Mina Coochie, John Jones the third, Carlos Soto, and Michael Muscadine in any order.

Again, Desmond and the lady behind you, you've already had your opportunity to speak.

If you can allow those who signed up for open forum to give public comment, we have a member actually that we wanted to clear up something that we spoke on regarding council member Janani Ramahandran, and there was a Miss Um, it was unclear.

So I really want to get a chance to clarify that statement.

And also, I also want to take Dende Yame, he submitted a card.

Uh, he just had to leave early, and I'm taking it, he's succeeding in his time to me.

There's no seating time in open forum.

And you've already had your opportunity to speak.

Okay.

So we don't get two times.

We can only speak once.

That's not, that's incorrect.

You can allow the speakers who who signed up to speak during open form to give public comment.

As I stated when you gave comment before the chair was generous and allowed you to speak during open form when you did not submit a card for items four or five.

So if you can allow the names who signed up to speak for open form to give public comment, please.

I apologize.

Uh Mr.

Desmond, you are out of order.

There are public speakers waiting to speak.

Kindly allow them to.

Thank you.

I'll call the names again.

Blair Beekman, Jennifer Finley, Miss Barbara Tanjiri, Kevin Daley, Mrs.

Sada Olabala, Millie Cleveland, Pamela Drake, Annx, Mita Kucci, John Jones III, Carla Soto, Michael Muscatine.

Uh John Jones III for the record.

Uh, through the chair, I want to start by it's it's interesting.

I'm watching this this meeting here, and it crossed my mind that I know Councilmember Gallo's not here anymore.

But when I first started coming to these meetings in 2013, he was the only one back here.

So what that means for me is I'm always willing to withstand that grace because there is a real learning curve that has to take place here.

And I just want to admit it's frustrating as a community member to hear all the important things that need to be funded, go through a level of scrutiny that never happens with OPD.

And I'm not here to debate the merits of the department as much as for you all.

I think it's crucial that this body works with the city administrator to really reel in how they exceed the overtime.

$31 million.

And we're talking about $200,000 here, 50,000 there.

So I want to encourage you all really have the curbs.

I understand it's difficult.

But we need you, the city needs you all to hold that piece accountable in order to make sure these other services can receive, these other programs can receive the funding that they need.

So I just want to encourage you and your leadership.

Because that's been a historic problem.

So it's not your fault, but now your task with dealing with that reality.

So again, thank you for your leadership.

Under the chair, Ms.

Jenks, before you begin, um Teresa, I need you to take over the share so the clock shows.

Thanks for not running it well.

Go ahead, Miss Jinx.

Uh so you just decided to take money away from clean water for kids to give it to the seniors.

You know, I gotta say, the seniors care about kids.

I'm not sure that they wanted that money to come from clean water for the kids.

But this is what happens when you don't address your big budget items, you don't look at the OPD budget, you leave everybody scrambling over scraps, and you have seniors begging to take money from clean water for kids.

That's what you do.

People aren't confused about your positions on independent uh civilian oversight.

We watch what you do, and that what you do is ongoing attacks on independent civilian oversight.

You cut 200,000 from CIPRA, uh that would shorten paid administrative leave for OPD officers.

You cut a position and the IG gave it to the OPD, but you can't find money for a CIPRA position.

It's too late for there to be fiscal responsibility in terms of the OPD budget because you're passing a budget.

The time to be fiscally responsible was any time before.

They weren't able to, they want to speak again, make a correction.

So I'm gonna do that for them and do my own statement.

So I'm here to uplift GCAA because GCA is one of the trusted organizations African immigrant families turned to when our communities experience crisis loss and fear.

The death of Aaron Iope deeply impacted the atrium and broader East African community, his hanging created grief, fear, and unanswered questions.

Many community members thought there was no meaningful public response from city leadership, no visible outreach, and no coordinated support except from council member Janani's office.

That was their statement.

Thank you.

I just want to say as well that it's ridiculous that we are choosing between clean water for our children and certain services for our seniors.

When we are talking about an overtime budget of 31 million dollars with the OPD, that is just ridiculous.

And I also last point that I want to make is the amount of investment the city has made into tech contracts, millions of dollars.

Thank you for your comments.

Your time is up.

But what did this council do?

It waited a whole year before they even asked the city administrator for status on on the work group that was supposed to be established for that transition.

So I strongly encourage you to start asking the city administrator for status reports on stuff that you pass and not wait years later only to find out it's too late.

The water issue at OUSD, they have three measures measured J, B, and Y.

It is not water bottles being given to those kids.

They have to change the pipes.

The leaders in the pipes.

Support them.

Um lastly, what's going on in South Africa?

It's find out what's going on in South Africa.

They're claiming the people who are from South Africa, the illegal immigrants are taking their jobs.

It's all a whole lot of chaos going on.

They've beaten up people.

I don't want to beat up nobody in Oakland.

But it is a problem when people come in your community and take the jobs, and you are 10% of the unemployed.

My time's almost up.

I'm gonna give you all five minutes of free time.

Thank you, Ms.

Olafala.

Moving to the Zoom speaker, Blair Beekman, please unmute yourself and begin your comments.

All right, thank you, Blair Beekman.

I've been working towards tech accountability best practices in San Jose and Oakland since 2014, 12 years now.

I've also lived uh my past four years in uh San Diego doing the same work.

San Diego in its own strong mayor system is in a similar situation as Oakland.

My previous public comments there have tried to report San Diego already has a well established and well liked IBA system, but it's not helping to better organize its city services at this point, and why San Diego is also looking to improve its current strong mayor system.

But interestingly, I feel that as this is Oakland's first time in trying to develop an IBA accountant and fiscal facilitator, maybe a new IPA office can actually be enough to create the organization and good governance Oakland needs at this time.

Overall, I'm simply not in favor of the current Oakland Strong Mayor Voter Initiative, but I hope both Oakland and San Diego current strong mayor questions are a work in progress and our communities can work together to figure out better bureaucratic organization and governance.

Thanks for the meeting today, and uh good luck what we can be doing in Oakland.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Beekman.

Jennifer, you are next.

Please unmute yourself and begin your comments.

Hi, Jennifer Finley.

Absolutely, yes, interrogate OPD spending, make sure there's some discussion about who is in charge of that and who manages that conversation.

Uh something similar recently went to committee, and rather than going to um public safety, like it was initially intended, it went to um to the finance committee, and that was uh the chair of the public safety committee Wong, who wanted to be able to avoid so that she could avoid pushing back on the OPA.

She in order to avoid having you push back on OPD and their union chair of public safety committee had the item deliberately scheduled to finance committee where it could be dismissed by council president.

Thank you, Ms.

Finley, for your comments.

Your time was up at this time.

All names have been called.

Okay, since there were no announcements, this meeting is adjourned.