Fiscal Year 2013-2015 Special Budget Meeting

HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL AND OAKLAND RESIDENTS Subject: FY 2013-2015 Proposed Policy Budget Date: April 17, 2013 Page 2 As a result, the Proposed Budget for FY 2013-15 proposes to reduce expenditures by $11.6 million in the first year (FY 2013-14) and $16.1 million in the second year (FY 2014-15). This will result in the proposed elimination of 79.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees in FY 2013-14 and 86.5 FTEs in FY 2014-15. The purpose of this transmittal letter is to lay out the context in which this budget is proposed: the Administration’s priorities and vision for the City; the collective contributions of our many stakeholders; the work we have done together to stabilize and build Oakland’s fiscal health and retain public services; the outside forces we must reconcile with our fiscal operations; the important long-term factors which require sound planning; and our strategies and values in building this budget. This budget proposal contains appropriations totaling about $1 billion per year for the next two years across all funding sources, and budget proposals that both increase and decrease City services. It is a balanced budget, as required by City Charter. In building the vision and direction proposed in this budget, we have weighed and tried to fairly balance the priorities of the Administration, Councilmembers, City employees and, most importantly, the community we serve. The specific proposed budget-balancing measures are presented in detail in the Service Impacts tab of this budget document. In brief, here are some of the most significant, concrete elements of this balanced budget:  Net increases in General Fund appropriations. In the current fiscal year (FY 2012-13), those appropriations total $409 million. For the proposed two-year budget, General Fund appropriations total $430 million in FY13-14, and $457 million in FY14-15.  Investment in public safety by funding more police academies. Under this budget, four academies will graduate over the next two years. The projected sworn staffing level of the department would be an estimated 697 officers by the end of FY 2014-15, depending on graduation and attrition rates.  Investment in economic development, including job training, business assistance, cultural arts and marketing, business attraction and affordable housing.  Policy trade-offs will need to be considered. Among these include funding for additional police academies, housing services, litter and illegal dumping enforcement and clean-up, road repair, graffiti abatement and Head Start services, which likely face federal cuts.  We have reduced our reliance on one-time sources of revenue for ongoing expenses ($10.8 million over the next two years, compared to $14.3 million for the current year). Priorities and Vision Oakland is a diverse city that is home to a wide array of different communities and individuals. In many cases, that means our residents and businesses sometimes have differing and even conflicting priorities. The job of leadership is to serve all of Oakland, and to resolve those differences in a way that best serves our collective needs and goals. In that spirit, our top priorities for this budget are to:  Invest in public safety;  Create jobs and promote economic development;