Oakland police department is dangerously understaffed with only 509 sworn officers on active duty – far below the minimum threshold of 700 set by Oakland voters in Measure NN
Just wanted to note this from the agenda report, which highlights that the department's net overtime spending is an underspend of about $8 million: "When the report says this:
"Despite this progress, year-to-date overtime expenditure through Q2 exceeded the fiscal year budget by $16,908,499. After accounting for $10,637,580 in identified savings, the Department’s net overtime spending is projected to result in an underspend of $8,010.787. It should be noted that the salary cost associated with acting sworn positions reduces overall salary savings and is not reflected in the overtime report or the totals reflected above"
The salary savings were highlighted at the meeting by Councilmember Wang and Interim Chief Beere, who elaborated that it has been city-wide practice to save money by using overtime rather than hiring more staff.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention! You are correct; the original version of this article misstated some of the financials by citing the first quarter (Q1) figures instead of the total of Q1 and Q2. The figures have been corrected in the article. with thanks and appreciation!
How nice to see that Oakland continues its Schrödinger's budget. #1. It is in such an extreme financial emergency that we cannot staff the 700 positions approved by voters in Measure NN (which continues a long tradition of funding positions that are never filled); and #2. At the same time, we have such a big surplus that the city politicians have committed to huge bonuses and raises for Union staff (many of whom do not even live in Oakland). These pay shenanigans are also the reason for the collusion of the City Council and the SEIU to promote a Citizens' Measure to avoid a City Council vote. So, we have both an extreme Financial Emergency and a Pay-Raising Surplus. Those of us who are not fooled by the cooked books know that #1 is reality.
Thanks once again for this article. Yes, our police are forced to work overtime because there are not enough of them. In addition the overtime results in the city being mismanaged. I have many examples, too many for a comment. So, people know, when the police are hired for an event in the city, it is the city of Oakland that receives the funds from the vendor of the event, and then they pay the police a certain amount of that. Police do not directly get the overtime from policing an event in the city. Also, we need to get rid of OPSPOC, all we need is an advisory committee to work with the police. And, we need to change the city ordinances so our police can do their job as well as all this oversight which is costing time and money. Finally, there is NO need for all the parcel taxes imposed on Oaklanders, we could create a productive Oakland and raise our revenue the true American way. Mindy Pechenuk, candidate for Oakland Mayor 2026
Just wanted to note this from the agenda report, which highlights that the department's net overtime spending is an underspend of about $8 million: "When the report says this:
"Despite this progress, year-to-date overtime expenditure through Q2 exceeded the fiscal year budget by $16,908,499. After accounting for $10,637,580 in identified savings, the Department’s net overtime spending is projected to result in an underspend of $8,010.787. It should be noted that the salary cost associated with acting sworn positions reduces overall salary savings and is not reflected in the overtime report or the totals reflected above"
The salary savings were highlighted at the meeting by Councilmember Wang and Interim Chief Beere, who elaborated that it has been city-wide practice to save money by using overtime rather than hiring more staff.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention! You are correct; the original version of this article misstated some of the financials by citing the first quarter (Q1) figures instead of the total of Q1 and Q2. The figures have been corrected in the article. with thanks and appreciation!
How nice to see that Oakland continues its Schrödinger's budget. #1. It is in such an extreme financial emergency that we cannot staff the 700 positions approved by voters in Measure NN (which continues a long tradition of funding positions that are never filled); and #2. At the same time, we have such a big surplus that the city politicians have committed to huge bonuses and raises for Union staff (many of whom do not even live in Oakland). These pay shenanigans are also the reason for the collusion of the City Council and the SEIU to promote a Citizens' Measure to avoid a City Council vote. So, we have both an extreme Financial Emergency and a Pay-Raising Surplus. Those of us who are not fooled by the cooked books know that #1 is reality.
Hold the presses! https://oaklandside.org/2026/03/25/oakland-is-struggling-to-hire-city-workers
Thanks once again for this article. Yes, our police are forced to work overtime because there are not enough of them. In addition the overtime results in the city being mismanaged. I have many examples, too many for a comment. So, people know, when the police are hired for an event in the city, it is the city of Oakland that receives the funds from the vendor of the event, and then they pay the police a certain amount of that. Police do not directly get the overtime from policing an event in the city. Also, we need to get rid of OPSPOC, all we need is an advisory committee to work with the police. And, we need to change the city ordinances so our police can do their job as well as all this oversight which is costing time and money. Finally, there is NO need for all the parcel taxes imposed on Oaklanders, we could create a productive Oakland and raise our revenue the true American way. Mindy Pechenuk, candidate for Oakland Mayor 2026