By Liz Hartka
LWVO’s Observer Corps is a dedicated group of civic minded volunteers who keep track of several of Oakland’s many Commissions and Committees. They keep us informed about substantive issues, and whether these agencies are maintaining required procedural standards, particularly process, transparency and accountability. Many thanks to our team: Lead Liz Hartka, Donnis Hobson, Kimberly Holtzinger, Jeanine Jensen, Karen McClennan, Wendy Murphy, and Tamara Sherman. If you would like to join us, contact lizhartka4@gmail.com
During 2024, Observer Corps members observed and reported on 48 public meetings in the City of Oakland. We observed meetings of the Budget Advisory, Police, Public Ethics, Public Safety & Services Violence Prevention Oversight, and Parks and Recreation Advisory Commissions. We also covered the Finance and Management and Life Enrichment Committees. Importantly, and consistent with required standards, only three of these 48 meetings lacked a quorum, and all provided agendas in advance and allowed enough time for public comment. It is heartening to see that City staff are serious about keeping the public informed about meetings and making sure there is time for public comment.
On the downside, some meeting recordings were not posted promptly or were posted only after League members complained.
The headline issues in city government in Q4 were the election and Oakland’s budget crisis. Discussions at the Finance and Management Committee regarding the budget deficit focused on (1) the activation of the contingency budget, (2) increasing revenue collections to mitigate budget shortfalls, and (3) obtaining an overtime report from the Oakland Police Department, which is projected to overspend its overtime budget by about $52M this year. In addition, the Committee continued to warn that the City must make further cuts, and that “the City’s structural budget issues will carry into future fiscal years depending on actions (or inactions) taken in the upcoming months.”
At a recent meeting, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission reported that it planned to cut the Parks budget by $1.7M, by freezing hiring and cutting contractors.
Oakland residents continue to have concerns about public safety. Interim results of the Urban Institute’s Measure Z evaluation were presented at the final Public Safety and Services Violence Prevention Oversight Commission meeting December 16. The evaluation included a list of practice recommendations, such as increasing investment and support for the violence prevention and intervention workforces, and recruiting multilingual staff. Expect the final evaluation report in mid-2025.
The Police Commission is discussing using police to dismantle “unhoused encampments”, requests for statistics about calls to MACRO and 911, and a new OPD protocol for prohibitions regarding racial profiling and other bias-based policing (the latter has the potential to be a nationally recognized policy). Three new commissioners joined the Commission in October, and the Commission has a new chair.
In what we hope is good news for the Public Ethics Commission, Measure OO passed with the approval of 73% of voters. This measure will give the Commission more powers, tighten lobbying rules, and add a much needed extra investigator to handle a backlog. One new commissioner joined the PEC in October. At its December meeting, the PEC discussed how it might fill the remaining vacancy, a mayoral appointment, given the recall of the prior mayor. In the context of continuing budget concerns, the PEC discussed a potential ballot measure for April 2025 that would secure stable funding for the Commission and perhaps other oversight bodies.
We can expect activity at City Hall to ramp up quickly in January. Discussions at meetings will include more background and instruction as new commissioners and committee members are on boarded and brought up to speed.