FY 2026-27 Proposed Midcycle Budget

the City Administrator to submit a report by January 2027 mapping the intersection of the Human Services Department (HSD) and the Office of Homelessness Solutions. This report shall identify all HSD programs and resources supporting unhoused and housing-insecure residents, and provide an actionable plan to align these operational functions directly under the administration of the Office of Homelessness Solutions to maximize efficiency and eliminate bureaucratic redundancies. Finance Department: Structural Deficit Analysis in Budgeting: The City Council directs the City Administrator to provide, as part of all future budget processes, a clear analysis of how the proposed budget addresses the City's structural budget deficit, including actions taken to reduce ongoing expenditures, increase sustainable revenues, and improve the City's long-term fiscal stability. The City Administrator shall also provide no fewer than two reports annually to the full City Council detailing the status of the structural budget deficit, progress made toward reducing the deficit, projected fiscal impacts of adopted policies, and recommendations for further action to achieve long-term fiscal sustainability. In order to improve public trust on measures passed by voters, the City Administrator shall also conduct an annual report containing operational and financial information about voter-approved ballot measures at the end of each fiscal year. Human Resources: Hiring Modernization and Compensation Survey: The City Council directs the City Administrator to prioritize hiring of funded vacant positions - specifically in critical frontline service-delivery roles across departments. The Administrator shall commit to improving efforts to market these positions to Oakland residents, including by partnering with community-based organizations that perform workforce development services and by strategic use of technology and media. The City Administrator shall also commit to improving inter-departmental coordination to troubleshoot bottlenecks in the hiring process, and reaffirm its commitment to conducting a holistic compensation survey of job classifications within the City of Oakland. The City Administrator shall provide no fewer than three reports annually to the full City Council detailing the status of hiring funded positions, progress made, and lessons learned. Human Resources: Eligibility List Utilization and Retention: The City Council directs the City Administrator—in coordination with the Civil Service Board— to implement a process by January 2027 to ensure that eligibility lists do not expire. This is because across City departments, many job classifications are analogous, and efforts must be made to ensure proactive hiring, improve the candidate experience, and expedite the hiring process. Recruitment pipelines shall remain permanently active, allowing qualified candidates to remain accessible to all departments with analogous vacancies. Comprehensive Public Communications and Information Technology Modernization: The City Council directs the City Administrator to return to Council no later than March 2027 with a comprehensive plan to modernize how the City of Oakland communicates and shares information with the public. The plan shall evaluate and provide recommendations to improve the promotion of City services, programs, public meetings, special events, cultural activities, and Oakland businesses through modern communication platforms and technologies. The plan shall include, but not be limited to, recommendations regarding the modernization of KTOP,