City council intends to once again declare a ‘severe and unanticipated financial event’ — suspending multiple voter-approved mandates in order to divert the money to the General Purpose Fund.
Measure NN, like Measure E was a "citizen-led" ballot measure that was drafted and approved outside of city government. Since its adoption, the language has shown multiple conflicts with the City Charter. The 700 officer requirement was thus adopted as a city ordinance even though it wasn't drafted or sponsored by the city. It's these citizen-led ballot measures that I am extremely critical about now - because there is no way to reconcile whether they are realistic or not since they don't go formal legal or audit review prior to being placed on the ballot (other than cursory review by the City Attorney and financial review by the City Auditor).
The 700 officer requirement was unrealistic from the get-go, given that internal reports showed that we wouldn't be at that level for years to come - definitely not by the July 2026 Measure NN deadline. Measure NN also drastically increased the allocation of funds to non-profit organizations compared to the Department of Violence Prevention (and it was sponsored by many of those same non-profits).
It's this complicated process that makes it virtually impossible for a regular voter to determine what is feasible and credible - and leads to further dysfunction.
Excellent report, Sean. Oakland needs leadership that ready to roll up their sleeves and face these issues head on. Mayor Barbara Lee had no business promising “no layoffs” at a time of fiscal crisis, and her approach merely shows her incompetency in managing a city government. She seems to have forgotten that her constituents are the focus, not the union members, most of whom may not even live in Oakland. We need an audit of all departments badly, but for now, ROLLING FURLOUGHS SHOULD BE ON THE TABLE to shore up the budget gap!
Under no circumstances should affordable housing funds be reduced. Unconscionable.
what would you want an audit look for? fraudulent use of funds? or inefficient use of funds? one is a fraud audit. the other a performance audit. very different beasts done by different experts
Len, seems to me that a whole scale review of all city departments is needed, reorg where needed, budgets etc. They would have to pay an outside consultant no doubt.
Even assuming the Council was willing and able to find the multi-million bucks to hire, say, McKinsey to perform such a study, there isn't the political will at City Hall to carry out the recommendations against the opposition of the unions that helped them get elected. And even if there were, almost every City employee, including lower management, is covered by multi-year contracts that govern work conditions as well as compensation.
It will either take years under the best of conditions, though Chapter 9 might make re-engineering City Hall processes easier. Or might not :)
I'd rather avoid Chapter 9, change to a strong mayor system, elect a competent mayor not beholden to any special interest, labor or real estate or wev.
I'm a hopeless optimist about Oakland government. That's what motivated me as a serial candidate for office.
Regards this point in the story: "The city has yet to honor the 700-officer requirement. Its current midcycle budget funds only 678 officers, and around 60 of those police officer positions currently are vacant. Due to worker’s compensation and other forms of leave, the actual number of police officers on active duty is even lower: around 500."
Thus, the City has about 618 police officers on the payroll, but only 500 of them at work.
This cries out for attention, another story focusing on this. Is this level of leave typical in municipal police departments?
According to the most recent OPD report to the Police Commission, we have 620 sworn officers with an operational strength of 546 (yay!), with 59 on medical leave, 20 on modified duty, and 14 on administrative leave.
The number on administrative leave has decreased significantly since Chief Beere came on board, due to changes in IA processing and Skelly hearing improvements.
As for the medical leave, this is a large number and could be attributed to the overall stress of an unstaffed force - where officers are put on mandatory patrol and overtime when they previously held mostly administrative positions. But this is speculative.
The Police Commission has created a "Mental Health and Wellness Ad hoc" committee which could investigate this further, however, it has focused mostly on developing a strategic plan for OPD's Wellness unit instead.
I certainly can’t speak for all, maybe not for many. But patrol work especially can be very hard on a body. I’ve had friends there with knee injuries, joint replacements, stubborn soft tissue injuries that take ages to heal. A lot of the workers comp time off is spent recovering from surgery and rehabbing surgical repairs. Recovery would be much shorter for a desk job, but a desk job wouldn’t result in so much damage.
Perennial unanticipated emergency is a sign of willful mismanagement of collected tax revenue. The problem is that Oaklanders keep electing abusive government.
Ilya, thank you for your excellent comment, and for reading Oakland Report. Voters are not to blame when they cast their votes based on misdirection and lies, as has happened in Oakland multiple times. Thank you again for your comment; the discussion is appreciated.
Sean, thank you for educating voters on how city manages funds collected from them. Maybe outcomes will change when more voters become cogniscent of the rip-off. Need to find a way for the report to reach a wider audience. Radio?
What about the promised raises for staff negotiated in 2025 which was based on the parcel tax passing? Are they going to pay for those raises with the money being raided from other tax measures like the park funds?
Thank you for this much needed article. There are solutions to this long term destruction of Oakland. This not a shortage of money problem, this is a shortage of leadership. Oakland needs an immediate outside audit of every department, NGO and Non-Profit. Oakland needs to immediately start creating revenue by bringing back our businesses and create new manufacturing . This means cleaning up crime, work with the Federal Government to get the drug cartels and open air drug markets out of Oakland. There is more to be said. If Oakland does not take these steps or it will get into continue destruction. Mindy Pechenuk, for Oakland Mayor 2026
Measure NN, like Measure E was a "citizen-led" ballot measure that was drafted and approved outside of city government. Since its adoption, the language has shown multiple conflicts with the City Charter. The 700 officer requirement was thus adopted as a city ordinance even though it wasn't drafted or sponsored by the city. It's these citizen-led ballot measures that I am extremely critical about now - because there is no way to reconcile whether they are realistic or not since they don't go formal legal or audit review prior to being placed on the ballot (other than cursory review by the City Attorney and financial review by the City Auditor).
The 700 officer requirement was unrealistic from the get-go, given that internal reports showed that we wouldn't be at that level for years to come - definitely not by the July 2026 Measure NN deadline. Measure NN also drastically increased the allocation of funds to non-profit organizations compared to the Department of Violence Prevention (and it was sponsored by many of those same non-profits).
It's this complicated process that makes it virtually impossible for a regular voter to determine what is feasible and credible - and leads to further dysfunction.
One obstacle to reaching the desired number of sworn personnel is OPD’s dismal failure to retain its officers.
Lawsuit time!
Is there any realistic legal recourse in this case? It seems that this resolution is unlawful, but what mechanism exists to enforce that?
Yes. Actually a very easy case. The city really messed up here. https://youtu.be/KFgat-zhaUg?si=9KuRa2BpuVptHUel
Excellent report, Sean. Oakland needs leadership that ready to roll up their sleeves and face these issues head on. Mayor Barbara Lee had no business promising “no layoffs” at a time of fiscal crisis, and her approach merely shows her incompetency in managing a city government. She seems to have forgotten that her constituents are the focus, not the union members, most of whom may not even live in Oakland. We need an audit of all departments badly, but for now, ROLLING FURLOUGHS SHOULD BE ON THE TABLE to shore up the budget gap!
Under no circumstances should affordable housing funds be reduced. Unconscionable.
what would you want an audit look for? fraudulent use of funds? or inefficient use of funds? one is a fraud audit. the other a performance audit. very different beasts done by different experts
Len, seems to me that a whole scale review of all city departments is needed, reorg where needed, budgets etc. They would have to pay an outside consultant no doubt.
Even assuming the Council was willing and able to find the multi-million bucks to hire, say, McKinsey to perform such a study, there isn't the political will at City Hall to carry out the recommendations against the opposition of the unions that helped them get elected. And even if there were, almost every City employee, including lower management, is covered by multi-year contracts that govern work conditions as well as compensation.
It will either take years under the best of conditions, though Chapter 9 might make re-engineering City Hall processes easier. Or might not :)
I'd rather avoid Chapter 9, change to a strong mayor system, elect a competent mayor not beholden to any special interest, labor or real estate or wev.
I'm a hopeless optimist about Oakland government. That's what motivated me as a serial candidate for office.
So true, yet I fear that without major restructuring effort the city will continue down the same path. Aren’t we at the tipping point already?
Thank you for this excellent article. Can we get the mayor to read this now?
Regards this point in the story: "The city has yet to honor the 700-officer requirement. Its current midcycle budget funds only 678 officers, and around 60 of those police officer positions currently are vacant. Due to worker’s compensation and other forms of leave, the actual number of police officers on active duty is even lower: around 500."
Thus, the City has about 618 police officers on the payroll, but only 500 of them at work.
This cries out for attention, another story focusing on this. Is this level of leave typical in municipal police departments?
According to the most recent OPD report to the Police Commission, we have 620 sworn officers with an operational strength of 546 (yay!), with 59 on medical leave, 20 on modified duty, and 14 on administrative leave.
The number on administrative leave has decreased significantly since Chief Beere came on board, due to changes in IA processing and Skelly hearing improvements.
As for the medical leave, this is a large number and could be attributed to the overall stress of an unstaffed force - where officers are put on mandatory patrol and overtime when they previously held mostly administrative positions. But this is speculative.
Boston PD had an alarmingly high medical leave rate (higher than Oakland) in 2020, but I can't find any follow up. (https://www.wbur.org/news/2020/12/21/boston-police-medical-leave-overtime-costs)
The Police Commission has created a "Mental Health and Wellness Ad hoc" committee which could investigate this further, however, it has focused mostly on developing a strategic plan for OPD's Wellness unit instead.
I certainly can’t speak for all, maybe not for many. But patrol work especially can be very hard on a body. I’ve had friends there with knee injuries, joint replacements, stubborn soft tissue injuries that take ages to heal. A lot of the workers comp time off is spent recovering from surgery and rehabbing surgical repairs. Recovery would be much shorter for a desk job, but a desk job wouldn’t result in so much damage.
Perennial unanticipated emergency is a sign of willful mismanagement of collected tax revenue. The problem is that Oaklanders keep electing abusive government.
Ilya, thank you for your excellent comment, and for reading Oakland Report. Voters are not to blame when they cast their votes based on misdirection and lies, as has happened in Oakland multiple times. Thank you again for your comment; the discussion is appreciated.
Sean, thank you for educating voters on how city manages funds collected from them. Maybe outcomes will change when more voters become cogniscent of the rip-off. Need to find a way for the report to reach a wider audience. Radio?
What about the promised raises for staff negotiated in 2025 which was based on the parcel tax passing? Are they going to pay for those raises with the money being raided from other tax measures like the park funds?
If we did away with city council districts and made them at-large (charter reform?) we could recall the entire “unanticipated” gang of incompetents.
Thank you for this much needed article. There are solutions to this long term destruction of Oakland. This not a shortage of money problem, this is a shortage of leadership. Oakland needs an immediate outside audit of every department, NGO and Non-Profit. Oakland needs to immediately start creating revenue by bringing back our businesses and create new manufacturing . This means cleaning up crime, work with the Federal Government to get the drug cartels and open air drug markets out of Oakland. There is more to be said. If Oakland does not take these steps or it will get into continue destruction. Mindy Pechenuk, for Oakland Mayor 2026