What Would You Like to Ask The Mayoral Candidates?

            Oakland now has ten candidates for mayor.  Links to the candidates are here.  Make Oakland Better Now! is preparing a questionnaire for all of them.  We want to ask them specific, pointed questions about what they would do as mayor to address public safety, public works, transparency and accountability in government, as well as the City of Oakland’s budget crisis.

            We need your help!  Please e-mail us at Oaklanders@MakeOaklandBetterNow.org and tell us what you want to ask the mayoral candidates.  We expect our questionnaires will go out to them between September 1 and 3, and we are asking the candidates to provide their responses by September 10.  We’ll start posting the responses on our site, at Oaktalk, at Oakland Local and other sites as soon as they come in. 

            We look forward to hearing from you, and we need your ideas no later than Monday, August 30.

Make Oakland Better Now! Members Urge Measure Y Revisions, Measures To Balance Budget

            Hundreds of Oaklanders attended  the Oakland City Council Meeting on Thursday, June 24, to present their views on the city’s budget crisis.  While different views were expressed, nearly all speakers agreed on two themes:  They strongly supported the uniformed police officers who work to keep us safe.  And they just as strongly urged the Oakland Police Officers’ Association to join all other Oakland stakeholders in helping to balance the city’s budget.  Negotiations between the OPOA and the city continue.

            Make Oakland Better Now! urged the City to adopt some very specific revisions to Measure Y.  Most significantly, we explained to the Council that with only a small reduction of the threshold number of officers required for the city to collect Measure Y taxes, the City could save as much as $8 million with only a minimal impact on the number of officers actually on duty.  We proposed the following:

• A small reduction of the threshold number of officers – from 739 to  lower, specific number -- needed for the city to qualify for collecting the Measure Y taxes; 
• A revision to the threshold requirement, so that the City would be required to actually hire the officers, not simply appropriate the funding for them;
• A revision to the strict requirement that the city  use Measure Y officers only for local problem solving, allowing them to be “primarily” dedicated to beat-based problem solving, but allowing flexibility in crisis or emergency situations;
• Allocation of small amounts of Measure Y proceeds for auditing the police department and for civilianizing clerical functions presently performed by sworn officers.  This would give us more information about how department funds are spent, and would put more sworn officers on the street fighting crime.

We believe that Make Oakland Better Now!’s proposal, if adopted, will result in only a minimal reduction in sworn police officers while reducing costs by millions of dollars.  And we will continue to push the City Council to adopt these proposed revisions to Measure Y.

The City’s proposed balancing measures, combined with Make Oakland Better Now!’s Measure Y reform and reasonable concessions from the Oakland Police Officer’s Association, would provide a short-term fix for the city’s budget.  But these measures do not solve the long-term problems, and these long-term structural problems will be a focus for us in the months ahead. 

As mentioned above, Oakland and the OPOA are in continued negotiations over the proposed concessions.  And here’s what Oaklanders are saying about OPOA and about budget matters in general.

Make Oakland Better Now! Adopts Policy Positions on Budget, Police

Make Oakland Better Now! members filled the Rockridge branch library’s meeting room for two hours last Saturday, June 19 to discuss how Oakland can deal with immediate and long-term budget problems without laying off 25% of the Police Department. MOBN!’s discussion panel included Bruce Nye, Jim Blachman, Frank Castro, Libby Schaaf and Mike Ferro of MOBN!’s Board, Council members Ignacio De La Fuente and Pat Kernighan and Jose Dorado, Chair of the Measure Y Oversight Committee.

MOBN! Board member Frank Castro moderated the presentations and discussion, and Board member Sara Wood-Kraft kept time. Panel members from the City Council presented their personal views of the budget crisis and suggested solutions which included budget cuts to many city programs including support for the arts as well as layoffs of police officers sufficient to prevent future collection of Measure Y funds. Such layoffs would also mean that Measure Y’s violence-prevention efforts would also cease.

Jose Dorado discussed the successes of Measure Y’s violence prevention efforts. MOBN! Board members Bruce Nye, Libby Schaaf and Jim Blachman presented specific approaches to dealing with the current budget deficit as well as projected deficits for the future. These approaches included the following:

1.      A ballot initiative to modify Measure Y to set a new and achievable standard for the number of police officers to be hired. Oakland would be required to actually hire a specific number of officers (perhaps 690 to 700) rather than simply to allocate funding for 739 officers as at present. This would allow Measure Y funds to continue to be collected to support Neighborhood Beat Officers and violent prevention programs. Civilianization of some current police functions would increase to save money. The Chief would be allowed somewhat more flexibility in assigning Neighborhood Beat Officers. Funds would be allocated for an audit of the Department to identify further savings. MOBN! estimated that only a small number of officers if the Measure Y modifications were approved by voters

2.      A list of many small budget cuts to city programs, drawn up by Councilmembers including Council President Jane Brunner, would be used to reduce the budget deficit for the remainder of this fiscal year.

3.      Members of the Oakland Police Department would be asked to contribute to their retirement funds, as do virtually all other city employees.

4.      An effective, mandatory rainy day fund would be established in Oakland to create reserve funds to meet future budget shortfalls.

5.      Oakland would be required to create an effective five-year financial plan in the future. 

 Following the presentations and discussions, MOBN! members at the meeting voted to support the budget strategies suggested by the Board. The suggestions are described in this letter to the City Council, as well as this letter to the Oakland Police Officers Association.  Everyone in attendance was encouraged to attend City Council this Thursday, June 24, 5:30 p.m. at City Hall and to testify in support of the MOBN!  suggestions. Oaklanders who wish to coordinate their efforts with Make Oakland Better Now! should e-mail Oaklanders@MakeOaklandBetterNow.org.

Mike Ferro, Make Oakland Better Now! Board Secretary 

Make Oakland Better Now! Meeting Scheduled for Saturday, June 19, 3:00 p.m.

                If you have come to this web site, you already know the City Council is talking seriously about eliminating 200 Oakland Police Officers in order to balance its budget.  And if you are a member of Make Oakland Better Now!, you already know our response is going to be "absolutely no way!"
 

                Come join us on Saturday, June 19, 2010, 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., Rockridge Public Library, 5366 College Avenue.   Work with us to formulate a practical, achievable alternative  we can present to City Council.  Then join us at City Council Meetings on Thursday, June 24 (time to be announced, but probably 5:30 p.m.) and Tuesday, June 29 (5:30 p.m.) as we stand together to present our position to the Council.

                The safety and future of our City are at stake - you will not attend more important meetings this year.  Please RSVP for the June 19 meeting.

Take the Make Oakland Better Now! Public Safety Survey

For the past two weeks, Make Oakland Better Now! has been publishing “Tasty Pastries” on the subject of Public Safety, particularly police services and crime reduction.  If you have read these already, we hope you have found them helpful.  If not, we urge you to read them now.  When you are done, please make sure your voice is heard by taking the Make Oakland Better Now! Public Safety Survey, available here.

Coming up next:  Tasty Pastries on the city’s budget and the current financial crisis.  We’ll follow that with another survey.  Make Oakland Better Now! surveys will stay open through the first week of June, and we will make the results available at our June 12 meeting.  Watch your e-mail and this web site for more information soon.

Make Oakland Better Now! Releases New Survey Results

Upcoming Public Safety Events

By Mike Ferro
MOBN! Public Safety Committee Co-Chair

There are important meetings in Oakland this coming week and the week following on public safety. Attending these meetings will be very helpful for you in understanding what is going on and what we might expect in the future. And your attendance will be very useful for helping us develop MOBN!'s perspective on public safety policy.

First, if you haven't yet attended an Oakland Police Department Strategic Framework public meeting, there are two this week:

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Willie Key Recreation Center

3131 Union St., Oakland

6:30 - 8:00 pm

Thursday, March 11

Manzanita Recreation Center

2701 22nd Ave., Oakland

6:30 - 8:00 pm

The Strategic Framework documents are also available on the OPD website. The framework is a good, very promising, piece of work, which says all the right things. I attended the first of these meetings which was held the same day that the framework was announced and thus was poorly attended. However, in attendance were some citizens who had been involved with finding and hiring Tony Batts as police Chief. I learned a great deal from what they said.

Police “Rebirth” in Oakland

Make Oakland Better Now! Tells Council, "Fix the Budget Now!"

After MOBN! had its budget meeting, took votes there and then surveyed its membership electonically, the results were clear:

• Hands off the police department;
• The city can’t fix this its fiscal problemswith program reductions;
• City salaries and benefits are out of control;
• Fixing these problem will take broad-based, across the board personnel cost reductions in every department.

That is the message MOBN! delivered to the City Council in a letter on January 27.  The City Council will be addressing the budget crisis at a special meeting on February 16 at 5:00 p.m.  In connection with that meeting, MOBN! told the council: 

Furthermore,

And,

Click the link below to read the entire letter.  MOBN! will present its positions at the 5:00 p.m., February 16 meeting, and urges all of its members to attend.

            On December 15, MOBN! Board members Bruce Nye, Jim Blachman and   Mike Ferro met with new Oakland Chief of Police Tony Batts at the Chief’s office at OPD headquarters. Topics of our conversation included MOBN! Public Safety Committee leadership’s five working goals,  Oakland’s homicide problem, the challenges of police resources, qualitative and quantitative, the challenges to Oakland’s communities regarding crime, especially violent crime community policing, the chief’s views on staffing needs and what MOBN! can do to help to improve Oakland’s public safety.

What Would You Like to Ask The Mayoral Candidates?

            Oakland now has ten candidates for mayor.  Links to the candidates are here.  Make Oakland Better Now! is preparing a questionnaire for all of them.  We want to ask them specific, pointed questions about what they would do as mayor to address public safety, public works, transparency and accountability in government, as well as the City of Oakland’s budget crisis.

            We need your help!  Please e-mail us at Oaklanders@MakeOaklandBetterNow.org and tell us what you want to ask the mayoral candidates.  We expect our questionnaires will go out to them between September 1 and 3, and we are asking the candidates to provide their responses by September 10.  We’ll start posting the responses on our site, at Oaktalk, at Oakland Local and other sites as soon as they come in. 

            We look forward to hearing from you, and we need your ideas no later than Monday, August 30.

Make Oakland Better Now! Members Urge Measure Y Revisions, Measures To Balance Budget

            Hundreds of Oaklanders attended  the Oakland City Council Meeting on Thursday, June 24, to present their views on the city’s budget crisis.  While different views were expressed, nearly all speakers agreed on two themes:  They strongly supported the uniformed police officers who work to keep us safe.  And they just as strongly urged the Oakland Police Officers’ Association to join all other Oakland stakeholders in helping to balance the city’s budget.  Negotiations between the OPOA and the city continue.

            Make Oakland Better Now! urged the City to adopt some very specific revisions to Measure Y.  Most significantly, we explained to the Council that with only a small reduction of the threshold number of officers required for the city to collect Measure Y taxes, the City could save as much as $8 million with only a minimal impact on the number of officers actually on duty.  We proposed the following:

• A small reduction of the threshold number of officers – from 739 to  lower, specific number -- needed for the city to qualify for collecting the Measure Y taxes; 
• A revision to the threshold requirement, so that the City would be required to actually hire the officers, not simply appropriate the funding for them;
• A revision to the strict requirement that the city  use Measure Y officers only for local problem solving, allowing them to be “primarily” dedicated to beat-based problem solving, but allowing flexibility in crisis or emergency situations;
• Allocation of small amounts of Measure Y proceeds for auditing the police department and for civilianizing clerical functions presently performed by sworn officers.  This would give us more information about how department funds are spent, and would put more sworn officers on the street fighting crime.

We believe that Make Oakland Better Now!’s proposal, if adopted, will result in only a minimal reduction in sworn police officers while reducing costs by millions of dollars.  And we will continue to push the City Council to adopt these proposed revisions to Measure Y.

The City’s proposed balancing measures, combined with Make Oakland Better Now!’s Measure Y reform and reasonable concessions from the Oakland Police Officer’s Association, would provide a short-term fix for the city’s budget.  But these measures do not solve the long-term problems, and these long-term structural problems will be a focus for us in the months ahead. 

As mentioned above, Oakland and the OPOA are in continued negotiations over the proposed concessions.  And here’s what Oaklanders are saying about OPOA and about budget matters in general.