we've got a budget!?

In a city council meeting that came right down to the June 30th deadline, Mayor Quan cast the tie-breaking vote to give Oakland a budget. At least for now, the $58 million deficit is covered. Starting with one of Mayor Quan's proposals and adding and removing things, the council worked back and forth until it was down to two sides which weren't that far apart. Given the various limitations, it wasn't possible to save everything, but they finally came up with a budget.

Following the budget process has been interesting. I don't envy the council or mayor their jobs. And while I was impressed that they came up with a solution at all, I disappointed with the acrimony in some of the council meetings. As Trib columnist Tammerlin Drummond said,

"the lack of civility displayed by some Oakland City Council members toward each other and members of the public was appalling."

You can follow along with city council meetings on Twitter with the hash tag #oakmtg, and watch it on KTOP (while it still has funding), either on cable or online. Or attend them in person and join in the fun.

The real questions are about the budget itself:

• It depends in part on concessions from some of the city unions, some of which are only tentative. And we don't know full details, other than what the firefighters are offering. Some of what has been heard is unsettling, including: Council members may no longer "support, endorse or sponsor" any proposal to change any City Charter provision relating to the police union. Mayor Quan thinks the pact is unenforceable.
• While the libraries were mostly saved, if funding for them falls much the city won't be able to collect Measure Q funds. That would greatly reduce the funding: Measure Q provides about 60% of the library's budget.
• The budget depends on the sale of the Kaiser Convention center for $28 million. The seller? Oakland. The buyer? Oakland. Chip Johnson calls it bizarre. The building is worth no where near that in the current market, but the city would transfer the funds from its (state budget-imperiled) redevelopment agency to the general fund. Whether the state will allow it remains to be seen.

Mayor Quan would like to pass an $80 parcel tax to help balance future budgets and restore some of the things that were cut. But as Max Allstadt said on Twitter,

Nobody should vote for a parcel tax without other much needed reforms. #oakmtg

Personally I'm wary of another parcel tax after the Measure Y debacle (i.e., the city was only supposed to collect the tax if they kept at least 802 officers; we're currently at about 637). I'm also not fond of parcel taxes in general, as they don't spread the load evenly. In any event, the city is having to call a special election (at the cost of $700,000) to try to get the voters to approve it. If it passes, it will bring in approximately $11 million a year, but it's a very big 'if'.

Deeper than the 'ifs' and 'maybes' is the fact that no real substantive changes were made. One of the underlying issues is that a large percentage of the city budget goes to public safety, yet people don't feel safe. The concessions from the unions help, but they're not a long-term fix to the problem by themselves. Then there are some of the social programs funded by Measure Y that have no accountability, yet aren't facing budget cuts the way basic services are. The $28 million sale of the Kaiser Convention Center is a one-time deal.

I don't know what all the right answers are, but I do know that the current budget doesn't address the basic problems. As council president Larry Reid said:

"I just know we're all going to be back here doing this again very soon."

Additional reading
...on the budget:
Sean Maher (Tribune)
Tammerlin Drummond (Tribune)
Chip Johnson (SFGate)
Bob Gammon (East Bay Express)
VSmoothe (A Better Oakland)

...on the parcel tax and special election:
Mayor Jean Quan (on OaklandLocal)
Ryan Phillips (Oakland North)
Matthai Kuruvila (SFGate)

...on the OPD reorg and budget:
Matthai Kuruvila (SFGate)
Harry Harris and Sean Maher (Tribune)
Chip Johnson (SFGate)
Daniel Borenstein (Tribune)

Finally, a big thank you to all those who make it possible to keep track of the goings on in Oakland: KTOP, all the people who tweet #oakmtg, and A Better Oakland, Sean Maher and Matthai Kuruvila for their reporting.

save Oakland ___

Seems like all sorts of things in Oakland are under threat these days, and not all because of the budget mess. That certainly isn't helping, as there just isn't as much money to go around.

If you haven't heard, Mayor Quan has proposed 3 budgets, known as Scenarios A, B and C. Scenario A is the most drastic, and is referred to as the "all cuts" budget. It assumes no concessions from the public safety employees (possible) and the $80 parcel tax doesn't pass (quite likely, given past misuse of such funds). Some people think Scenario A is "political theater", to help at the bargaining table with the unions and to scare people into voting for yet-another-parcel-tax.

libraries - This is a big one to a lot of people -- libraries are important to them, especially for their kids. People turned out in droves at the last council meeting to show their support for the libraries. Under Scenario A, all but 4 of the libraries would be closed, and those 4 would have substantial service cuts. It's not just about books, it's about internet access, too. See the Save Oakland Library website for more.

tool library - Oakland has a great resource in the tool Lending library at the Temescal branch. Tools can be expensive to buy or rent, and this makes them available at no cost to all Oakland residents. But it's part of the library system and therefore under threat as well. See the Oaktown Art website for more.

adult literacy - Partly because of the library cuts, but partly because of statewide budget cuts, there's very little left of adult literacy programs in Oakland. Two years ago they served 25,000 students; last year it was less than 2,400. See the East Bay Express article for more.

public food in public spaces - Phat Beets distributes food as both CSA (we've loved our box) and via farmer's markets. But it also produces some of the food right here in Oakland, in gardens in public spaces. Some of those gardens are under threat. But this isn't a budget issue -- Phat Beets receives no city funding, and has done lots of work to improve the park. See the Phat Beets site for more.

Can everything under the budget ax be saved? No, there just isn't enough money to cover everything, even if the public safety employees make concessions. But make your voice heard for the things you believe in.

where's the money?

Besides high unemployment and budget woes for the city, Oakland and Alameda County are facing other money problems. The Oakland Tribune reports that the property tax base is likely to be down another 2% this year. That's bad news especially for schools, as approximately 42 cents of each dollar of property tax goes to support public schools.

Meanwhile, Oakland Seen reports that Oakland participation in the 2010 census so far is geographically divided. Above 580, 73 to 78% have returned their forms. Below 580, the rate is closer to 50%. The East Bay Express reports even lower numbers for West and East Oakland, 32% and 37% respectively. Low participation in the last census is estimated to have cost Alameda County $43 million in federal funding since 2002. While only a some of that would have gone to Oakland, given the current budget, every little bit helps.

budget news

You've doubtless heard the news that the all 4 measures on the ballot for the special election passed. But according to Today in Montclair, only 23% of registered voters bothered to vote (vs. 80% in November's election.) In any event, they passed, and that means $7 million towards balancing the city budget.

Also of note is a post from Oakland firefighter Zac Unger over on Living in the O. The union members agreed to work four additional hours each week (a change from 52 to 56 hours per week) which cuts down on overtime, and an 8% cut in overtime pay, which will save the city over $6 million. (Note: Zac is an Oakland resident, firefighter and is on the board of firefighters union Local 55. He's also a writer, author of Working Fire: The Making of a Fireman. It's a fascinating look inside being a firefighter, as well as a great read.)