Hello Joe and thank you for highlighting the gap in leadership in Oakland's Human Services Division. I am a commissioner currently serving on the Mayor's Commission on Aging and attended every budget hearing to enlighten Councilmembers of the critical nature of the services Oakland provides to vulnerable older adult residents and to advocate for their funding, particularly programming and services run through its senior centers which at one very low point were slated to be closed. Our efforts were largely successful; however, we too pointed out the lack of leadership in the Health & Human Services department as a concern as did the Budget Advisory Commission in their recommendations. According to BAC, hundreds of thousands of dollars were found encumbered by the division for loosely defined, unsigned contracts and grants with community-based organizations, some of whom were delivering services in good faith based on verbal assurances that a contract was forthcoming. And on at least one occasion, the City Administrator had failed to fully vet budget reduction proposals in Human Services without seeking to fully understanding the consequences. We are encouraged that the City Council and Mayor Lee have acknowledged seniors and senior programming as basic needs in the budget they passed. Fingers crossed that the planned revenues come through. Thanks for the great reporting on the City.
Hi Lenore -- Thanks for your comment. I'm a writer with Oakland Report. We're developing a new Letters to the Editor column for Oakland Report, and we're planning to include a shortened version of your comment in the new column. Thank you for subscribing and for commenting on our work. Best regards,
Postscript: The City did re-instate the funding for the Director of Human Services, including an Interim Director, after the Budget Advisory Commission included the position in its recommendations. Director Michelle Phillips is now in place. It's heartening when the City's Commissions are heard--we understand there are many Commissions too. We appreciate the Budget Advisory Commission for taking the opportunity to hear the Commission on Aging's concerns about the urgency for maintaining critical essential human services and staffing levels. Thanks for highlighting the issue.
Hello Joe and thank you for highlighting the gap in leadership in Oakland's Human Services Division. I am a commissioner currently serving on the Mayor's Commission on Aging and attended every budget hearing to enlighten Councilmembers of the critical nature of the services Oakland provides to vulnerable older adult residents and to advocate for their funding, particularly programming and services run through its senior centers which at one very low point were slated to be closed. Our efforts were largely successful; however, we too pointed out the lack of leadership in the Health & Human Services department as a concern as did the Budget Advisory Commission in their recommendations. According to BAC, hundreds of thousands of dollars were found encumbered by the division for loosely defined, unsigned contracts and grants with community-based organizations, some of whom were delivering services in good faith based on verbal assurances that a contract was forthcoming. And on at least one occasion, the City Administrator had failed to fully vet budget reduction proposals in Human Services without seeking to fully understanding the consequences. We are encouraged that the City Council and Mayor Lee have acknowledged seniors and senior programming as basic needs in the budget they passed. Fingers crossed that the planned revenues come through. Thanks for the great reporting on the City.
Hi Lenore -- Thanks for your comment. I'm a writer with Oakland Report. We're developing a new Letters to the Editor column for Oakland Report, and we're planning to include a shortened version of your comment in the new column. Thank you for subscribing and for commenting on our work. Best regards,
Postscript: The City did re-instate the funding for the Director of Human Services, including an Interim Director, after the Budget Advisory Commission included the position in its recommendations. Director Michelle Phillips is now in place. It's heartening when the City's Commissions are heard--we understand there are many Commissions too. We appreciate the Budget Advisory Commission for taking the opportunity to hear the Commission on Aging's concerns about the urgency for maintaining critical essential human services and staffing levels. Thanks for highlighting the issue.