OAKLAND, Calif. – On Tuesday, June 23, Oakland City Council approved the “Community First Budget” proposed by Finance Chair Lynette Gibson McElhaney, and Equity Caucus partners Vice Mayor Reid, Councilmembers Noel Gallo and Loren Taylor.

Informed by Oakland’s 2018 Equity Indicators Report, this budget aims to guide the City’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic while addressing the Community’s demands for a transformation in public safety and policing.

During this meeting, Councilmember McElhaney and the Equity Caucus made clear, through their proposed policy directives, their commitment to reducing OPD’s usage of the City’s general-purpose funds by 50% as alternative methods for community safety are scaled to meet the safety needs of residents.

This reduction is paired with investments in the Oakland Department of Violence Prevention, which Councilmember McElhaney championed in 2017, a $1.35M investment in alternative safety measures like MACRO, a program designed to dispatch health workers instead of police for mental health service calls, and $200,000 in further funding to the Oakland Police Commission, the strongest and most independent police commission in the country.

In this “Community First Budget”, the Oakland Equity Caucus also increased funding for COVID-19 measures demanded by community members and organizations.