Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee’s first budget proposal delivers a blunt message to voters weighing yet another city tax: Without new money, Oakland can avoid layoffs of city staff, but not deeper deterioration in basic services.
Lee has released a $2.27 billion midcycle budget that does not assume passage of Measure E, a June parcel tax expected to raise about $34 million a year. But her proposal also made clear what the city cannot afford without additional revenue: keeping aging fire equipment from threatening firehouse operations, preserving shelter beds for the homeless, expanding illegal dumping crews and restoring police staffing.
If approved, the parcel tax would cost $191 for single-family homes, and $131 per multifamily unit…