Oakland budget cuts: police overtime, firehouses, and potentially dozens of city jobs
Find out what the city is planning to trim to balance a $129M deficit.
Big cuts to police, fire, and other critical services are planned in Oakland to balance an already distressed city budget.
On Friday the city published a report laying out the grim fiscal situation and a roadmap for getting to the end of the fiscal year in June 2025. The city council will meet Monday to discuss some of the administration’s actions and potentially approve other changes to close Oakland’s $129 million projected deficit.
“The City has faced fiscal challenges before, weathering the storms of the Great Recession, the COVID-19 pandemic, and other periods of economic contraction by employing various strategies that sustained service delivery and fiscal stability,” staff wrote in the report. “Now, it is essential for the city to stay focused and proactive in addressing short-term, mid-term, and long-term structural deficits.”
To that end, City Administrator Jestin Johnson has ordered the following cuts:
- OPD overtime spending is cut by $25 million, leaving the department with $5 million to June. OPD routinely overspends its budget, especially overtime, and has done so for years
- Two police academies scheduled for next year are being canceled. The current academy, which graduates this month, is not affected
- The Fire Department is temporarily closing two fire companies. Staff have repeatedly warned in recent weeks that cuts to public safety are unavoidable because these two departments take up over two-thirds of the general purpose fund
