Mission Statement

With an emphasis on Oakland’s Youth, Oakland Parks, Recreation and Youth Development, (OPRYD) and its partners will provide best in class, relevant and equitable programs and services, while meeting the specific needs of people and communities both at the neighborhood level and regionally throughout the City of Oakland. We achieve this mission through intentional engagement and by removing the barriers that prohibit equitable opportunities for all.

Learn more about who we are and what we do here.

SERVICE IMPACTS & EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS

Reductions

Clean, healthy, sustainable neighborhoods

1. Reduces the department’s transportation budget by 50%, which comes out to $225,000 per year. The department uses this funding to shuttle participating youth in its programming between its recreation centers to its various enrichment programs and planned field trips. The department’s intended use of this funding was for the purchase of low and zero emission passenger vans. The loss of this funding will impact program participants who rely on the department’s transportation.
   • Equity consideration: Oakland’s Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities have historically had less access to greenspaces and programs. Additionally, these communities have higher percentage of "zero-car household" or caretaker schedules may not facilitate safe and convenient pick up/drop off to park programs. The loss of this funding for the department’s transportation program could create a participation barrier for vulnerable children in Oakland's BIPOC low-income communities who relying on this transportation to reach programs in a safe and organized manner.
2. Freezes 2.0 FTE vacant positions in OPYRD’s administration, specifically a 1.0 FTE Administrative Analyst II, and a 1.0 FTE Account Clerk III. These positions would support the overall management of the department if filled, however, the department has been managing the impact of these vacancies through distributing their workload to existing staff. Freezing these positions will mean that the department will continue to operate with a lowered capacity in certain administrative functions, specifically fiscal management, communications, and reporting.
   • Equity Consideration: While there is a service impact on the department’s ability and capacity to perform its administrative tasks and duties, this freeze does not have a discernible equity impact on services to the Oakland community.
3. Reduces the department grant subsidies for its longstanding community partnerships with 5 community-based organizations (CBOs) by 20% each year. The 5 CBOs are the Chabot Space & Science Center, Fairyland, Asian Cultural Center, Hacienda Peralta, and the OPR Foundation. These reductions were made to redirect General Purpose Fund dollars to other essential services in the City. The 5 CBOs still have 80% of their grant subsidy from the department.
   • Equity consideration: The equity impact for this budget action is unknown as these organizations are external entities outside of the City that maintain their own finances and programming.

SIGNIFICANT BUDGETARY CHANGES

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

POSITION INFORMATION