Oakland City Council votes to move forward with first phase of budget cuts

OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) – The Oakland City Council held an intense meeting on Tuesday, lasting nearly six hours. Dozens spoke during public comment, many of whom were emotional about services being threatened.

The council voted in favor of moving forward with the first phase of cuts.  

Ms. Cecilia Cunningham attended the meeting Tuesday night distressed about potential budget cuts in police, fire and senior services.

“There’s too much crime here in Oakland. We need to do all we can to keep all our resources and services available to the public,” she said. 

The council has to close a $129 million budget deficit before July of next year. At the meeting, they debated which cuts need to be made next.

"It's very stressful, especially as city councilmember of District 6 where we just had a five-alarm fire that happened,” said councilmember Kevin Jenkins. 

The cuts include temporarily closing two fire stations at the beginning of January, in addition to one that is already closed. And in the next phase of cuts, the council could close four more.

"They're talking about 30% of the firehouses in the city being closed. I don't know how we can effectively serve the citizens. That's not just a minute or two longer. You're going to be waiting 20 or 30 minutes when your house is on fire or your heart stops, so it's deadly," said Seth Olyer, Vice President of the Oakland Firefighters Union Local 55.

The council is also considering a $32 million cut to the Oakland Police Department through a reduction in overtime and canceling police academies. A union researcher explained how police could be more efficient.

"Harvey Rose found that 12 officers extended their shift 500 hours in just one year. Six of them extended 200 or more days. So you do the math, that means they extended every day. Just this handful of officers cost the city $2 million,” Kristen Schumacher of Local 21 said. 

Councilmembers say in the coming weeks they'll be been working to redirect some voter-approved funds to help maintain some services. But still, longtime residents worry about what's still on the chopping block.

"I don't think that anyone should be coming here at 60+ years old and you're begging them to keep your services. It's just not right,” said Oakland resident Michelle Hailey. 

Hailey wore a rope around her neck while she spoke to council members. 

”It feels like a financial lynching,” she said. “I don’t think anyone here ever had an economics class. No one has ever run a business. They said ‘Your time is up.’ I said, ‘No, this city’s damn time is up. I’ve had enough.’”

Thirty percent of the fire stations in Oakland are on the line. Councilmember Dan Kalb did make an amendment, which would designate $7 million of the Coliseum sale to restoring any closed fire stations.