The human side of the redevelopment debate is coming to light in Oakland, where the city council is working to reduce the total number of layoffs in the city as the deadline for the end of redevelopment approaches. The redevelopment agency, which until recently has employed people in nearly a dozen departments throughout the city, will cease existing in 7 days.
To keep from having to make deeper cuts, the city is proposing a reorganization of its bureaucracy to increase efficiency. But those reductions will still mean 105 full time equivalents being eliminated. The loss of redevelopment funding is a $28 million hit to the city.
The reorganization is intended to protect the jobs of public safety, library, and social services departments. It will lead to most of the cuts coming from the departments that handle economic development, and other services such as graffiti removal.
From the Oakland Tribune:
City leaders are proposing to lay off the equivalent of 105 full-time employees and consolidate several departments to close a sudden $28 million deficit following the loss of redevelopment funding. The proposal, which will go to the City Council Wednesday, preserves public safety, library and social service funding, while merging numerous departments to save on administrative costs.
City officials could not say Monday exactly how many city workers were slated to lose their jobs, but given that redevelopment paid for the equivalent of 159 full-time city workers, the proposed layoffs were less severe than originally anticipated.
Read the full article here.