Oakland may partly reverse cuts to violence prevention department
OAKLAND - The Oakland City Council budget team is proposing to restore $2.1 million in proposed cuts to the city's Department of Violence Prevention, among other changes to Mayor Sheng Thao's proposed fiscal two-year $2.1 billion budget, the budget team announced Monday.
The proposed increase for the Department of Violence Prevention comes following Thao's pitch to cut $3.95 million from the department each year for two years, part of an effort to close a $360 million budget deficit in the city.
Cutting $3.95 million from the budget of the Department of Violence Prevention would mean violence prevention services to about 2,000 fewer people each fiscal year when the city is suffering from increased violence such as slayings and robberies. The Department of Violence Prevention works to stem violence.
City council budget team members found additional revenue and savings to help craft a package of amendments, which will go before the council Wednesday afternoon.
"These proposed amendments reflect our shared values as well as the input of the community, Council, our City departments, and my office," Thao said in a statement Monday.
Two weeks ago, dozens of people held a news conference outside Oakland City Hall to protest the planned cuts to the Department of Violence Prevention.
"It really, really impacts us," said Vamsey Palagummi, managing director for Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ), whose members protested May 31 and who get funding for violence prevention from the Oakland Department of Violence Prevention.
CURYJ and its allies organized the protest.
Each group funded by the department was being told to cut their budget by 22 percent while city officials cut altogether the department's Neighborhood and Community Teams strategy, Palagummi said.
Groups contracting with the Department of Violence Prevention serve mainly people of color. More than half of the people slain in Oakland killings are Black, according to the department.
Other amendments include creating an $8.8 million fund to provide housing for homeless people more rapidly. That money will be added to $216 million for affordable housing already in the mayor's budget.
An additional $300,000 is proposed to fund grants for artists, culture keepers and the business community.
With the amendments, "we will be able to take action to strengthen the safety of our communities, help vulnerable residents and promote a vibrant and diverse economy and city," Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas said in a statement.
Bas, At-Large Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, and Councilmembers Carroll Fife and Kevin Jenkins make up the city council's budget team.
The team is also including in their amendments an analysis of the Oakland Police Department's staffing and resources. The analysis will identify the resources the department has, determine how many officers are needed in each area and determine how to allocate officers and resources.
Following Wednesday's meeting, the council will hold a meeting on the budget June 26 The council must pass a balance budget by June 30.
