City of Oakland issues nearly 2,500 layoff notices

Layoff notices were issued to 1,464 full time City employees and more than 1,000 part time City employees today. The city has nearly 5,100 employees total. Layoffs will not impact sworn police officers or fire firefighters. Both groups are protected from job cuts by their contracts. The cutbacks result from the elimination of the Oakland Redevelopment Agency (RDA) which is required by state law to cease operation by February 1st, only two weeks from today.

 The City uses RDA money to pay for nearly 160 employees. That includes using RDA funds to pay half the salary of the Mayor and all Council Members. So when the RDA money goes away in two weeks the City has to adjust its budget. But that does not mean just because a position is currently funded with RDA money the person in that job will lose their job.

The decision of what salaries to cut and what jobs to eliminate will be decided by City Administrator Deanna Santana in consultation with Mayor Jean Quan and the City Council. The plan is expected to be presented to the City Council by next Monday, January 23. The Council has scheduled special meetings on Wednesday January 25^th and Tuesday January 31^st to decide where the cuts should be made.