FY 2026-27 Proposed Midcycle Budget

City of Oakland FY 2026-27 Midcycle Mayor’s Proposed Budget:   Honorable City Council and Oakland Community Members,   Oakland is a city with extraordinary strength, history, and possibility. Oaklanders are resilient, creative, and driven by an unwavering commitment to community. It is my honor to present my first budget as Mayor of Oakland –  a budget focused on City Hall’s responsibility to provide the essential services our community relies on and deliver government that is accountable, effective, and fiscally responsible.   This moment demands both honesty and hope. Our city continues to face serious financial pressures and longstanding quality-of-life challenges, but there are also signs of progress and momentum. Violent crime and gun violence are declining by double digits to historic lows, coordination across City government is improving, and Oaklanders continue to show extraordinary pride and hope in the city we call home. I commend our Finance Team for, over the last several months, achieving the Herculean task of assembling a fiscally sound budget that is balanced and does not include any lay offs of our City staff. We closed the shortfall from the assumed $40 million parcel tax by freezing vacant positions and reducing contract services across the organization. These reductions will however have real effects on the services we can provide to residents. At a time when many local governments are laying off staff, this budget recognizes that Oakland’s workforce is essential to maintaining public safety, responding to homelessness, keeping neighborhoods clean, and delivering the services residents rely on every day. I must be honest with you. Our City continues to face grave financial and operational challenges that must be decisively addressed.   Here is my current assessment of City finances and services for Oaklanders:   The City must earn the trust of the Oaklanders we serve. Residents want faster, more efficient delivery and results on core services such as emergency response, homelessness, illegal dumping, and safety. Oakland’s budget should reflect these priorities and deliver on those responsibilities and promises. Spending should be transparent and responsible. It is the City’s ultimate responsibility to deliver the results our residents expect and deserve, and budget planning and revenue approaches with the least possible burden to our small businesses, residents, and homeowners should be implemented.   The City is chronically financially distressed. Simply put, the ongoing cost of providing City services continues to grow faster than Oakland’s recurring revenues. Let me explain by way of analogy as if the City of Oakland were a family. In this household, family members are working hard to make ends meet. Many are picking up extra hours, but the cost of rent and gas are increasing faster than the family’s finances can sustain. Each month this family is forced to cut back on spending while working harder just to get by. Like this family, the City of Oakland expenses grow faster than our income. This structural imbalance has led to repeated budget deficits, increasing financial strain, and difficult reductions that have impacted the City’s ability to consistently deliver the level of services Oaklanders deserve. The City’s Road Map to Fiscal Health is our framework to tackling these longstanding problems and breaking the constant cycles of cuts and austerity. Importantly, this budget demonstrates that Oakland can take responsible steps toward fiscal stability while still protecting the workforce that delivers essential City services. Avoiding layoffs helps preserve institutional knowledge, maintain service delivery capacity, and support the long-term operational stability the City will need moving forward. This budget is a step in the right direction, it is balanced and reduces our structural deficit, but it is not sufficient to address our longstanding problems.   Beyond our financial deficit, the City’s service delivery levels are unacceptable. For the past few budget cycles, the General Purpose Fund has not been healthy enough to meet the matching fund commitments contained in the special tax ballot measures residents have generously provided. The City has not provided the levels of services that Oaklanders demand and deserve. Oaklanders deserve more than just the bare minimum for core City services like safety, emergency calls, and neighborhood cleanliness.   Critical equipment and technology impairs our ability to provide adequate services. Our fire engines and trucks are well beyond their useful lives and are in danger of failure. If the City does not have operating engines and trucks, we will be forced to close firehouses, which will compromise public safety. This would be devastating on a day-to-day basis for residents needing emergency medical response and could be catastrophic during a major disaster. Our illegal dumping equipment is in such a poor state that it impairs the ability of City crews to clean up the trash on our streets.   Furthermore, federal and state funding are uncertain, shrinking, and unreliable. Over the last two years, Oakland has experienced approximately $24 million in lost or delayed federal funding for emergency infrastructure and essential services, with additional shortages ahead. We are currently facing an estimated $5 million State of California Continuum of Care budget gap needed to sustain six critical programs for homelessness services, including 190 shelter and housing beds that will be taken offline this summer. The loss of these programs would have a substantial impact on the community’s homelessness response capacity and continuity of care.   At a time when Oakland families and small businesses are already feeling the strain of rising costs and economic uncertainty, City government must be equally disciplined and thoughtful in how it manages public resources and prioritizes spending. That’s why we are focused on protecting core