OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) — “Selling the Coliseum is not a silver bullet for the decades-old financial problems we have here in the city of Oakland. It’s been a problem for decades. What it will help do is alleviate it. It’s landing,” Oakland Mayor Shen Tao said in response to a question on ABC7’s Midday Live.
The city is currently operating under a contingency budget that was activated on October 1st due to the resale of the Oakland Coliseum.
Oakland City Councilor Janani Ramachandran spoke to ABC7 News on Tuesday after a special financial meeting was canceled.
“This is the third time that myself, Councilman (Treva) Reed, and Councilman (Noel) Gallo have attempted to schedule a special meeting to provide transparency to the public about the current state of the budget,” Rama said. Chandran says. .
But an email obtained by the Oakland Observer on its blog and confirmed to ABC7 News by the mayor’s office says one meeting was canceled because Ramachandran had to leave early and Gallo was unable to attend. It has been shown that
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Tuesday’s special meeting was canceled as staff was still discussing the results of the fourth quarter earnings numbers. The numbers were always scheduled to be discussed at the regular meeting scheduled for Oct. 22.
“This is a normal process. I know it’s an election year and some council members want to politicize things, but at the end of the day, that’s normal. We’re waiting for the fourth quarter and the first quarter so we have the information and then we can ‘come back and adjust the budget,”’ Mayor Thao explains.
The meeting will begin discussions on possible cuts, which are likely to be phased in.
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Meanwhile, the Auckland Police Officers Association issued a strongly worded statement expressing concern that the budget deficit is likely to be “much larger than known”.
That’s true, according to an information report released Oct. 10 by the City Finance Department. It shows an operating deficit of approximately $80 million. But the report also said the $30 million in excess spending was “driven by spending in the public safety sector.”
And an overtime spending report prepared by Oakland Police Chief Floyd Mitchell will be discussed at the Oct. 22 meeting. This means OPD is nearly $26 million over its overtime budget.
“We have 683 police officers, and that number is simply not adequate given the volume of calls our city receives,” explained Sergeant Huy Nguyen, president of the Auckland Police Officers Association. .
Sergeant Nguyen said a staffing survey is expected to be released later this year and will highlight problems caused by continued staffing shortages. He contends that the city also saves money by working overtime and not paying benefits to new employees.
Mayor Thao said that since March, the city has frozen all hiring and restricted travel for staff.
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