In the past two months, Observer Corps members have been busy reporting on many issues in Oakland city government, including public safety, ethics, public works, and finance.
Public safety is often front and center in Oaklanders’ minds, especially during an election year. At its March meetings, the Public Safety Committee endorsed reinstatement of the Police Cadet program, which recruits Oakland high school students to train to become future members of the Oakland Police Department (OPD). The program was terminated in 2023 due to lack of funding; the city sought foundation funds to restart the program. In the long run, the cadet program should help shore up staffing levels at OPD, which is an issue that continues to concern both the public and members of city government.
The committee also introduced a new policy for GPS tracking. While the OPD has had the capacity to track vehicles [in Oakland] via GPS for several years, it does not have a formal policy governing the use of this technology, which puts Oakland out of compliance with State policy.
A proposal to move parking enforcement from the Oakland Department of Transportation (OAKDOT) to the Finance Department was met with pushback at Committee Meetings of both Public Works and Finance. Several Oakland residents and many employees of OAKDOT gave public comment opposing the change.
Another big topic discussed at recent Public Works Committee meetings was public dumping. Both committee members and the public agree that illegal dumping is a big problem in Oakland, and that the City needs to do more to identify, prosecute, and collect fines from cars involved in dumping.
Speaking of public comment, questions were raised at the March 18 Public Ethics Commission meeting about whether the December 2025 meeting skipped public comment or requested public comment at incorrect times, and whether commission meeting times were convenient for the public. All Oakland residents have the right to fill out a speaker card at public meetings and voice their opinions on issues before the City’s committees and commissions. Failure to allow public comment at public meetings is a serious breach of the public trust, as well as a violation of the 1976 Sunshine Act.
Members of the public offered comment about whether City Council Members deserved raises (most supported only a small raise or no raise at all). In the end, the PEC approved a five percent raise.
The agenda item which earned the strongest reaction from Finance Committee members (at its March 4 meeting) was a staffing report presented by the Human Resources Management Department. Some top-level findings in the report include: (1) there is a citywide vacancy rate of about 20%, which translates into roughly 800 open positions, and (2) fifty percent of the vacancies have no requisitions
attached to them (which means no action can be taken to fill them). Chair Ramachandran blasted the report, calling it a “disgrace.”
At its April 21st meeting, Finance Committee Members had an animated discussion about the Budget Advisory Commission’s reports, particularly about the BAC’s recommendation to look into a progressive parcel tax. The BAC was very complimentary about the Budget Town Halls that the Oakland League of Women Voters and SPUR (San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association) helped host. The BAC noted that the town halls and forums were well attended and that citizens were engaged. They recommended even more outreach to additional communities in the future.
Many thanks to our diligent Observers Corps members who volunteer their time to cover public meetings – you all play a vital role in the process and have done a great job keeping us informed about local government!