Oak. Mulls Which Police Hiring Plan Will be on Ballot
Oakland voters could find out Thursday night which tax measures to support the hiring of more police officers will appear on the November ballot.
The seven possibilities range from a new tax on cannabis operations, to an idea that some are calling the "dollar a day parcel tax." It would impose a $360 annual tax on each parcel for five years to fund public safety.
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"Councilmember Jean Quan says a new property tax would need to be approved by two-thirds of voters, and that's a high hurdle.
"Because the police aren't contributing towards their pensions, I'm getting a lot of feedback that people are not willing to vote for this if the police aren't willing to pay part of their pension," said Quan.
Quan says she does expect voters to amend Measure Y eliminating a requirement that Oakland have at least 739 officers for Measure Y money to be collected.
"Most people, two-thirds of Oaklanders who were a part of my poll, said they would be willing to continue to pay that tax to get the 63 officers back, and to continue to have the violence prevention programs," said Quan.
This comes after 80 police officers were laid off last week, and with the city facing a projected $50 million deficit next year.
