FY 2026-27 Proposed Midcycle Budget

Fire Safety Equipment: The budget does not provide sufficient funds to replace our aging fire vehicles, which are far beyond their useful lives. Without reliable equipment, the City may have no choice but to shut down fire stations, putting the safety of our entire community at risk. For everyday emergency 911 calls, this could mean slower response times when every second counts. In the event of a major disaster, the consequences could be even more severe. Illegal Dumping: Frozen positions remain for the illegal dumping unit, which must also divide its time and resources between servicing homeless encampments and picking up illegal dumping on city streets. There are no designated equipment funds for the purchase of critical equipment needed to address illegal dumping. This situation makes it more difficult to proactively and responsively abate illegal dumping in and around Oakland’s streets, sidewalks, and encampments. Police Staffing and 911 Response Times: The budget sustains the police department’s staffing levels, which means that without sufficient police officers, the City will face longer emergency response times, reduced patrol presence, delayed investigations, increased officer burnout, and ongoing challenges to respond effectively to public safety emergencies. Providing Shelter to Homeless and Closing Encampments: Without additional financial support, approximately 190 shelter and housing beds would be taken offline. A significant portion of these beds serve Transition-Age Youth (TAY) and families, populations that are particularly vulnerable and in critical need of stable housing and supportive services. The loss of these programs could have a substantial impact on the community’s homelessness response capacity and continuity of care. Full Ceasefire Implementation: Without additional resources we will not be able to operate at best practices levels because there is insufficient funding to fully staff up to the recommended case manager levels for the number of individuals at the highest risk in Oakland. Maintaining Parks, Pools, and Facilities: The current budget does not restore previously eliminated and/or frozen parks maintenance positions that would both improve our parks’ cleanliness and bring Measure Q back into compliance with its maintenance of effort provision. The budget does not have the resources needed to bring our pools back to the condition that our youth deserve. In addition, the budget does not solve the years of deferred maintenance in the City’s buildings or bring our facility maintenance staffing in line with industry standards Serving Youth and Seniors: Our senior centers are not able to be open five days a week, leaving many older adults with nowhere to go for connection, wellness, and essential services. Our recreation programs are limited in the number of at-risk young people that they can serve both after school, and during the summer where so many of our most vulnerable become involved with dangerous and anti-social activities. Supporting Arts and Culture: The proposed budget does not include resources to advance the City’s arts and cultural programs or to enhance coordination with local artists and cultural organizations. It also does not extend funding to enhance the City’s capacity to deliver arts and cultural services across neighborhoods.   Without additional local funding and continued fiscal discipline, Oakland will face increasingly difficult decisions that extend beyond quality-of-life services and into the core public safety and emergency response functions residents depend on.   This year, Oakland residents will also decide on important quality-of-life issues, including the proposed Measure E -- the Oakland Public Safety, Cleanliness, and Accountability Act of 2026 -- a locally controlled funding measure intended to help restore critical City services. To provide transparency to Oakland residents, this budget also outlines how Measure E funds, if approved by voters, are to be prioritized to prevent reduced services by: Protecting 911 fire and emergency medical response times by keeping fire stations open, equipped, and fully operational. Addressing illegal dumping, litter, and trash in streets and parks by keeping illegal dumping clean-up infrastructure staffed and operational. Reducing homeless encampments and providing emergency, temporary shelter resources to connect unhoused people with housing, addiction, and mental health services and illegal dumping clean-up crews and equipment. Sustaining reductions in violent crime and gun violence; preventing reduction of police patrols; supporting investigations; and funding special operations for sideshow, Ceasefire, human trafficking, burglary suppression, and commercial district enforcement.   The work ahead will also require Oakland to continue improving how City government operates, delivers services, and stewards taxpayer resources. Building a more responsive, accountable, and effective City Hall must remain part of our long-term strategy for strengthening public trust and ensuring Oakland can meet today’s challenges and seize tomorrow’s opportunities.   Thank you to the Oakland residents, workers, community organizations, business leaders, and public servants who continue to show up for this city every day. Oakland’s strength has always come from the people who care deeply about their communities and remain committed to building a safer, cleaner, and stronger future for the next generation. We can only deliver on that future with a budget that reflects our priorities, our values, and our responsibility to the people of Oakland.   Sincerely,   Mayor Barbara Lee May 2026   5