Oakland and UC Budget Crisis

The Oakland City Council voted to place a parcel tax on the November ballot to raise approximately $18 million and also voted to increase the individual user utility tax to raise $2.4 millions.  This is about half the projected $42 million deficit.  These new taxes do not come with any provisions to reduce expenditures or ways for cost savings. As a result, the citizens are asked to pay more taxes without corresponding reductions.

The vote reflected a sharp division in the philosophies among the council.  On the one hand, the majority lead by Jean Quan states that the taxes are necessary, the opposition by Ms. Brunner insists on reductions to accompany the tax.

Caught in the middle are the citizens of Oakland who can hardly afford to pay the taxes.  Unemployment in Oakland is now passing 18%, our foreclosure rate one of the highest in the Bay Area. People losing jobs and houses; it’s unconscionable to tax them more without a corresponding cut in government expenses.  Oakland citizens are feeling the economic pain, so should our government.

The story takes an even more ominous turn when it was revealed that several Oakland elected officials have not taken the 10% pay cut that was either promised or requested last year.  Topping our list is our Mayor who publicly stated that he would take a pay cut, but never did so. This new action should end any talk of re-election chances.

Councilpersons Brooks and Reed also declined to take a pay cut.   Mr. Reed stated he could not afford to and Ms. Brooks pointed out that she cut her offices expenses and retuned to the city an amount that greatly exceed the pay cut.

Finally our highest paid elected official City Attorney John Russo refused to take a pay cut of his $207, 000.00 base salary because he gave up perks like management leave and vacation.  That does not appear to be much of a sacrifice since those types of perks are normally not paid to elected officials anyway. 

Our city leaders requested city employees take a 10% pay cut, yet there is no corresponding cut by our elected officials.  This isn’t leadership, but “do as I say not as I do.” They expect rank and file employees to reduce their pay and benefits, but the political leaders will not do the same.  They expect Oakland citizens with 18% unemployment to raise their taxes and our elected leaders refuse to reduce their salary.   This is not public service, but private windfall.

Regardless whether the new taxes pass or not, it is only a temporary fix.  The Oakland budget system is broken.  It generates more expenses faster than the city can pay for them.  Change has to occur.  Councilmember Quan pointed out that police and fire are the only city employees who do not contribute to their pension.  To do so would save the city $9M dollars.

Yet the city has not negotiated reform, only asking the police for a voluntary concession. The police have refused and countered they have already given up millions of dollars from benefits to help the city.  They want to see the city managed better before they pour money into a sinkhole.   It is time for a clear restructuring of city expenditures. We will see if the political leadership will emerge to stop the bleeding.

The University of California showed they also are unclear on the concept of public service.  UC Berkeley announced they will double the number of out-of-state admissions, to 18.5% of the undergraduate class.  International students will now make up 8.3 %.  UC Berkeley is for sale to the highest out of state bidders.  GO BEARS!!!!!

Out-of-state student’s pay $20,000 more a year, of which $10K is pure profit to the school.  It also means that 1, 725 California residents’ children will lose a spot at UC Berkeley.   Just so it is clear: we California taxpayers contribute $3 billion dollars a year to the UC system.  They in turn have now excluded over 1,700 of our kids for the UC Berkeley campus to sell these spaces to out-of-state and foreign students.  

Undergraduate Admissions Susan Wilbur, to paraphrase Rod Stewart, lied straight faced whe she said out of state students do not take any spots from California students. Unbelievable.  I hope to God she is not a UC grad. I always gave UC credit for better education.

And will this new money be used for to hire professors, improve facilities? No.  It will go to ensure that our overpaid UC management can keep their salaries at their current levels. They gave its rank and file employees to take a 10% pay cut.  Yet there was no cutting at the top. 

It’s clear that many elected officials and upper government management do not understand the concept of public service.  They see their job to protect every personal salary and perk they have received.  They maintain this by cutting low level workers salary, reducing services, and raising taxes. Yet when it comes to them feeling the sacrifice they turn a blind eye and a deaf ear.

They want to be paid like the private sector with no risks or loss.  They should deal with 18% employment, quadrupling of medical expenses, retirement, 401k, and pension funds wiped out by the stock market crash, foreclosures, loss of revenue, and other risks that private workers are subjected to everyday.  Upper management and elected officials are very comfortable with low level employees taking this risk.  It is time that they experience what the overwhelming majority of us already know as a day-to-day reality.

While the city budget crumbles, missed economic opportunities stare Oakland in the face on a daily basis.   The City released a report showing that a new baseball stadium would generate millions of dollars yearly to Oakland’s economy.  That sounds exactly what the proponents of a downtown baseball stadium told then Mayor Jerry Brown. He of course ignored the benefits of a privately financed stadium in downtown to attract over 2 million visitors a year. 

Instead he fired Robert Bobb the ball park’s biggest proponent, and rolled the dice with public funds on a housing complex.   How is that working out now former Mayor Jerry?  By the way Robert Bobb then went to Washington D.C. and spearheaded building of a new park in an old abandoned naval yard. Next time you are in D.C. go by and see how National Park revitalized that area, see the millions of visitors,  all the new business that have sprouted out up on empty lots, new housing,  and dream of the green that could have been in Oakland’s downtown.

It is time to hold public officials accountable for their actions.  We can continue the same path or can vote for innovative solutions. You can voice your opinion by participating in the government process and voting in each election.  The choice is yours, let’s see what you decide.

Clinton Killian is an attorney in downtown Oakland, an Oakland resident and a former Oakland Planning Commissioner. He can be reached at: (510) 625-8823 or email: clintonkillian@yahoo.com