FY 2021-23 Adopted Policy Budget
ECONOMIC & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Mission Statement
To make Oakland an easy, efficient, prosperous, and resilient place to do business, and to reduce racial disparities and help all Oaklanders achieve economic security so that everyone has an opportunity to thrive.
Learn more about who we are and what we do here.
SERVICE IMPACTS &
EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS
Enhancements
Good Jobs and Vibrant Economy
- Transfers the Special Activity Permits Division from the City Administrator's Office to the Department of Economic and Workforce Development to improve coordination with business development, workforce development, and cultural affairs while focusing existing resources on equitable economic development. Specifically, this transfer reframes the Special Activity Permits Division from a nuisance abatement perspective to a facilitator of economic development. Altogether, this addition will support continued evolution of the cannabis equity program and facilitate similar efforts across other industries. Fiscal and administrative staff will be restored to the department to support the increased operations as a result of this transfer.
- Equity Consideration: This enhancement will enable the division to build upon its existing equity work in the cannabis industry and apply it to other industries such as entertainment and mobile food vending. The reframing offers an opportunity to explore policies to reduce racial disparities in employment and business ownership across a range of businesses and activities.
- Adds 2.0 FTE to the Special Activity Permits Division to support special events in the parks and public spaces as Oakland re-opens, to assist in educating and monitoring special activities such as nightlife, and to support transition to Economic Workforce Development.
- Equity Consideration: Additional staff will allow existing staff to examine policy changes, afford time to respond to more than just complaints, and to promote more equitable outcomes.
- Allocates $75,000 to pay the property taxes of City-owned properties in the recently designated Chinatown Business Improvement District (BID). With this contribution from the City, it will support the planned economic development in this historic neighborhood. Once the Chinatown BID is formed, it will help to pay for special benefit maintenance, security, management, and physical improvements beyond those normally provided by the City.
- Equity Consideration: The creation of Business Improvement Districts in neighborhoods supports the needs of the small business owner community in this designated zone and tends to enhance the overall vitality of the areas they serve. Oakland’s Chinatown is an important community hub, which have historically been underinvested. Once Chinatown’s BID forms, the City’s payment will be redistributed and thus will support Chinatown’s predominately Asian businesses, their employees, and property owners.
- Adds $300,000 for Small Business Re-opening Assistance for façade improvement and repairs and Flex Streets program support through multilingual technical assistance in flatlands neighborhoods below 580, including East Oakland, West Oakland, Fruitvale, Chinatown, Little Saigon/Eastlake, Diamond, Laurel, and Fairfax.
- Equity Consideration: Additional resources for the programs in targeted neighborhoods would support equity as program participation in Façade and Tenant Improvement Programs (FIP/TIP) and Flex Streets Program, which have lower subscription rates compared to downtown business counterparts. The additional general fund support has greater flexibility compared to bond restricted funds which are the primary funding source for FIP/TIP. Additional commercial properties in Oakland’s Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities will now be eligible for program support.
- Adds $500,000 over two years for the Black Art Movement & Business District (BAMBD) program development for small business incubation, lease support, grants, and signage.
- Equity Consideration: Additional fund support provides grant funding for capacity building of the Black Arts Movement District for programming and operational support. The BAMBCDC is focused on support of Black owned businesses and cultural activities within the Council established cultural zone.
- Restore a net 0.9 FTE positions. The Urban Economic Analyst, III will remain funded in the Adopted Budget to lead economic development activities in East Oakland including business development, planning/zoning updates, catalytic site development and community development programs. This will mitigate the impact of freezing a vacant part-time Urban Economic Analyst IV.
- Equity Consideration: The freezing of the part-time UEA IV, PPT will impact existing and potential new Business Improvement Districts, neighborhood partnerships and capacity-building with partners in BIPOC communities. The duties will be absorbed by existing staff.
- Allocates $2.4 million to support the city’s workforce development initiatives. $1.5 million over two years will go to job readiness, placement grants/contracts with a focus on flatlands neighborhoods below 580 (Fruitvale, Chinatown, East Oakland, West Oakland) and impacted communities including youth, homeless, and formerly incarcerated; $60,000 in one-time funds for Workforce Development One Stop Operator Grant will support coordination of 19 WIOA resource partners; and $925,000 of the $2.07 million Council awarded community grants will provide access to workforce services and improve employment outcomes.
- Equity Consideration: This allocation supports the Workforce Development Board Race & Equity Analysis to provide access to workforce services and improve employment outcome to residents in zip codes 94621, 94601, 94605, 94606, 94607. These zip codes are predominantly in Oakland’s BIPOC communities.
Clean, Healthy, and Sustainable Neighborhoods
- Adds $1.5 million from General Purpose Fund over two years for Cultural Affairs programs (grants such as Neighborhood Voices program, festival support, etc.) with a focus on flatlands neighborhoods below 580, including East Oakland, West Oakland, Fruitvale, San Antonio, Chinatown, Little Saigon/Eastlake, Laurel, and Brookdale.
- Equity Consideration: The City of Oakland has 7 distinct districts, several of which are historically underserved areas composed of majority BIPOC communities. These additional resources will support targeted outreach and services to Oakland’s most marginalized and immigrant communities in the identified flatlands neighborhoods.
- Unfreeze 0.5 FTE Program Analyst II and add 0.5 FTE to make position full-time in the Cultural Affairs Bureau. The PPT position previously focused on walking tours, but because it will now be FT, this position will be able to provide more outreach to these primarily BIPOC neighborhoods on available Cultural Affairs services.
- Equity Consideration: Unfreezing this position and converting it to FT will allow more dedicated support to the BIPOC community and their ability to access public art and cultural grant funding as articulated in the policy directive of June 21, 2021, to focus on the flatlands neighborhoods below 580 (including East Oakland, West Oakland, Fruitvale, Chinatown, Little Saigon/Eastlake, San Antonio, Laurel, Brookdale).
- Allocate $448,731 in FY 2021-22 and $573,930 in FY 2022-23 for City sponsorship of Cultural Arts Grants and Fairs and Festivals. This funding depends on the transient occupancy tax from hotels and had to be removed entirely during the Midcycle Budget due to the pandemic. It has now been restored partially in FY 2021-22 and increased in FY 2022-23 to match projected revenues. The City’s sponsorship will support the Organizational Assistance Grants, Neighborhood Voices - Organizations and Neighborhood Voices Individual Artist programs and the costs of putting on community events. The Art + Soul festival will not be funded in this budget so that community-based organizations and events receive more of the available funding.
- Equity Consideration: This restoration impacts Oakland’s ethnically diverse communities and neighborhoods, including historically underserved BIPOC communities, through providing increased City funding to support cultural programming through grants and community fairs and festivals.
- Allocates $30,000 in one-time use of Capital Impact Fee Fund (Fund 2421) for Museum of Jazz & Art Property Condition Survey and Seismic Mitigation: Feasibility Study for 1310 Oak Street Fire Alarm Building (FAB).
- Equity Consideration: A new Museum of Jazz and Art center would provide cultural and educational benefits to the community. The project would provide a new civic institution in the Black Arts Movement and Business District, a cultural district established by City Council to preserve and celebrate Black art, culture, and businesses. This museum would focus on the Black art form of jazz and help create a sense of place and identity in the Black Arts Movement and Business District.
SIGNIFICANT BUDGETARY CHANGES
Note: The FY 2021-23 Proposed Policy Budget proposed the transfer of the Special Activities Bureau from the City Administrator's department to the Economic & Workforce Development department. The approved FY 2021-23 Adopted Policy Budget reflects this transfer. As such, the FY 2019-20 Actuals and FY 2020-21 Midcycle Budget are reported within the City Administrator's budget accordingly.
Note: Adjust the column widths at header row to view complete table.