Oakland Mayor Jean Quan is looking to balance the budget as painlessly as possible. That seems to mean sharing some of the burden of reducing expenses across all of the city’s services, not eliminating specific programs entirely.

For instance, her plan would close Senior Centers one day per week and implement furloughs for police officers. But she wants to make sure that these vital services continue to serve the community. She’s vowed to find other means for delivering the meals that some of the city’s elderly take at the centers. She also plans on asking the courts to allow 33 internal affairs officers to be put on the street, use investigators to backfill patrol officers, and empower citizens to take reports for burglaries and “victimless” crimes.

Oakland is facing a budget shortfall of approximately $46 million.

From the Contra Costa Times:

Mayor Jean Quan said Saturday that none of the city’s senior centers will be closed and no more police officers will be laid off as she wrestles with a $46 million projected budget shortfall for next fiscal year.

However, program cuts and reforms will hit all aspects of city government, Quan said at a crowded town hall-style meeting. Police will likely see furloughs. Senior centers may be shuttered one day a week.

“I am going to have to change the way government is structured,” she said. “We will (have) less departments “… and middle managers.”

Read the full article here.