In a remarkably swift move on Wednesday, the Oakland City Council approved a two-year, $4.36 billion budget that staves off staff layoffs, keeps all fire stations open, and boosts funding to combat sideshows and illegal dumping, in part by relying on revenue that the city has not yet secured.
The council’s 6-1 vote came weeks before its June 30 deadline to pass the budget and just one day after its budget team — led by Council Member Janani Ramachandran — introduced amendments to the spending plan initially put forward by Council President Kevin Jenkins, who served as interim mayor before Barbara Lee was sworn in last month.
Ramachandran said the council’s efficient budget process represented a “symbol of unity, our strength as a city and our ability to move past petty politics.”…