By Rebecca Kaplan, Oakland City Councilmember At-Large–
On June 26, 2023, the Oakland City Council successfully passed the proposed budget for the coming two years, including our amendments. This included the proposals from Mayor Sheng Thao, and the amendments from the Council President’s Budget Team, led by President Nikki Fortunato Bas, and including myself, and Councilmembers Carroll Fife and Kevin Jenkins.
Together, we worked diligently with city staff and the Mayor to come up with budget amendments that provided a balanced budget in the face of a historic budget deficit, while protecting and restoring vital programs for our communities. We were able to restore fire department services, eliminating cuts to fire stations; and to expand support for violence prevention, adding civilian investigators to collect and analyze evidence, and to do the follow-up work needed to solve crimes. We also restored other key community needs.
We additionally made a substantial and vital investment in affordable housing and meaningful and more rapid solutions to homelessness. There is a need to expedite working with community-based organizations to acquire and operate properties, so that Oaklanders in need can get housed timely, including available apartments, dorms, and hotels. With these considerations in mind, the Rapid Response Homeless Housing Acquisition Fund was created with these proposed budget amendments. This supplements millions from Measure U, as well as potential funds from State Homekey Grants for these purposes. The allocation of local funding will allow our projects to score better in State funding applications, so this money can bring additional resources too.
The coordinated strategy includes seizing opportunities for housing by rapidly conducting appraisals, environmental studies, and more for properties, such as hotels, dorms, and apartment buildings that could be available for acquisition, and thus, be able to help get people off the streets more quickly. This included direction to work on opening new sites across Oakland—East, West, and Center—to help better respond to homelessness. It includes the need to expand support for LGBT homeless people, who have been disproportionately represented among the unsheltered.
We continue to support major new construction of affordable housing, including in transit-oriented development. We are pleased that many Oakland projects, including those in priority development areas, are moving forward in seeking the state funding process. And, by expanding the capacity to more effectively acquire small and medium existing buildings, we can more effectively help people off the streets.
Councilmember At-Large and Council President Rebecca Kaplan, who is the Vice Mayor of Oakland, was elected in 2008 to serve as Oakland’s citywide Councilmember; she was re-elected in 2016 and 2020. She also serves on the Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC). Follow Councilmember Kaplan on Twitter @Kaplan4Oakland (https://tinyurl.com/2dtjmazc) and Facebook (https://tinyurl.com/2p9dd5ta ).
Out of the Closet and into City Hall
Published on July 13, 2023
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