Post by TheShadow on Jun 18, 2009 21:39:46 GMT -5
www.insidebayarea.com
Chatter goes here and here
By Kelly Rayburn
Oakland Tribune
OAKLAND — Can Oakland really count on a 10 percent fee on tickets to events at the Oracle Arena and the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum to help patch its daunting budget deficit?
It won't be easy.
One week after a group of four council members introduced a host of proposed revisions to Mayor Ron Dellums' May 5 budget plan — including the idea for a 10 percent ticket fee — the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority board could take a first step toward implementing it this morning by asking authority staff to do the legwork needed to put the plan together.
But there are plenty of logistical and legal hoops that need to be cleared if the idea is ever going to happen, including a question of whether the professional sports franchises that call the authority's facilities home have a vote on the issue.
"I expect some push-back, but I expect it will get done," said Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente (Glenview-Fruitvale), a commissioner on the authority's board.
The 10 percent fee could eventually raise as much as $9 million a year each for the city and Alameda County. That money would be used to help cover the roughly $11.2 million in annual payments both government entities make to the authority for debt service and operations. That, in turn, would free up cash for other programs.
Though the fee would benefit both the city and the county, it's clear that it is city officials who are driving the proposal. And some are skeptical of whether their plan can work.
"I understand what the city is doing," said county Supervisor Gail Steele, also a commissioner on the board. "We all need money right now. But you have to look at everything. This may be too messy."
Steele said the authority must look at the relationship it has with its tenants — the A's, the Raiders and the Warriors — and not damage those as Oakland tries to balance its budget.
Oakland is facing an $83 million general fund budget deficit for the fiscal year beginning July 1. Revenues are projected at $414 million, with expenditures pegged at $497 million.
The teams didn't have much to say about the idea Thursday. Ken Pries, a spokesman for the A's, said, "We have not been notified by the city regarding this issue." Amy Trask, the CEO of the Oakland Raiders, declined to comment. Warriors officials did not return phone calls.
Whatever else happens, one thing is clear: the ticket fee won't generate $9 million in the upcoming fiscal year, as the council members' proposal indicated last Friday. While it seems plausible, officials say, the fee could eventually generate $9 million in annual revenue, it won't happen in the 2009-10 year largely because a number of A's and Raiders tickets have already been sold.
Oakland Assistant City Administrator Marianna Marysheva-Martinez said this week the city can expect "$4.5 million at best" in the first year, and council members agree that $4.5 million is a more realistic figure.
The authority board meets at 8:30 a.m. today at 7000 Coliseum Way.
COPS and Measure Y
One piece of the city's budget picture that has Oaklanders on edge is how much the city will get from the federal government after applying for $67 million to fund 140 police officers over a three-year period.
The grant has consequences beyond the fate of 140 officers who, under the current budget proposal, would lose their jobs Oct. 1 if the city doesn't receive outside funding.
Under the terms of Oakland's 2004 public safety ballot measure, Measure Y, the city must fund a baseline of 739 police officers in order to collect the $18 million or so in annual Measure Y revenue that pays for an additional 63 police officers as well as violence prevention and fire department programs.
The city won't know how much of the grant funding it will receive until July, Dellums said this week, which is sooner than what was originally expected.
The mayor was asked whether he believes Oakland will be able to pay for 739 officers — and continue to collect the Measure Y revenue — after everything shakes out.
"I'm going to hope that we can," Dellums said. "But I believe at the end of the day, we're going to have to find other resources outside of the COPS program to fill that gap of 140 if we're going to fill it."
What that seems to mean: the city will get a portion of the grant. Not the whole thing.
Election time
Ballots go out next week for Oakland's mail-only special election, in which voters will decide on four ballot measures that could generate $7 million or $8 million for the city in the next year.
Ballots must be received by the Alameda County Registrar of Voters by 8 p.m. July 21. They can be mailed or dropped off at the registrar's office at 1225 Fallon St. in Oakland.
For summaries of the measures, including arguments for and against, visit www.oaklandnet.com.
Chatter goes here and here
By Kelly Rayburn
Oakland Tribune
OAKLAND — Can Oakland really count on a 10 percent fee on tickets to events at the Oracle Arena and the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum to help patch its daunting budget deficit?
It won't be easy.
One week after a group of four council members introduced a host of proposed revisions to Mayor Ron Dellums' May 5 budget plan — including the idea for a 10 percent ticket fee — the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority board could take a first step toward implementing it this morning by asking authority staff to do the legwork needed to put the plan together.
But there are plenty of logistical and legal hoops that need to be cleared if the idea is ever going to happen, including a question of whether the professional sports franchises that call the authority's facilities home have a vote on the issue.
"I expect some push-back, but I expect it will get done," said Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente (Glenview-Fruitvale), a commissioner on the authority's board.
The 10 percent fee could eventually raise as much as $9 million a year each for the city and Alameda County. That money would be used to help cover the roughly $11.2 million in annual payments both government entities make to the authority for debt service and operations. That, in turn, would free up cash for other programs.
Though the fee would benefit both the city and the county, it's clear that it is city officials who are driving the proposal. And some are skeptical of whether their plan can work.
"I understand what the city is doing," said county Supervisor Gail Steele, also a commissioner on the board. "We all need money right now. But you have to look at everything. This may be too messy."
Steele said the authority must look at the relationship it has with its tenants — the A's, the Raiders and the Warriors — and not damage those as Oakland tries to balance its budget.
Oakland is facing an $83 million general fund budget deficit for the fiscal year beginning July 1. Revenues are projected at $414 million, with expenditures pegged at $497 million.
The teams didn't have much to say about the idea Thursday. Ken Pries, a spokesman for the A's, said, "We have not been notified by the city regarding this issue." Amy Trask, the CEO of the Oakland Raiders, declined to comment. Warriors officials did not return phone calls.
Whatever else happens, one thing is clear: the ticket fee won't generate $9 million in the upcoming fiscal year, as the council members' proposal indicated last Friday. While it seems plausible, officials say, the fee could eventually generate $9 million in annual revenue, it won't happen in the 2009-10 year largely because a number of A's and Raiders tickets have already been sold.
Oakland Assistant City Administrator Marianna Marysheva-Martinez said this week the city can expect "$4.5 million at best" in the first year, and council members agree that $4.5 million is a more realistic figure.
The authority board meets at 8:30 a.m. today at 7000 Coliseum Way.
COPS and Measure Y
One piece of the city's budget picture that has Oaklanders on edge is how much the city will get from the federal government after applying for $67 million to fund 140 police officers over a three-year period.
The grant has consequences beyond the fate of 140 officers who, under the current budget proposal, would lose their jobs Oct. 1 if the city doesn't receive outside funding.
Under the terms of Oakland's 2004 public safety ballot measure, Measure Y, the city must fund a baseline of 739 police officers in order to collect the $18 million or so in annual Measure Y revenue that pays for an additional 63 police officers as well as violence prevention and fire department programs.
The city won't know how much of the grant funding it will receive until July, Dellums said this week, which is sooner than what was originally expected.
The mayor was asked whether he believes Oakland will be able to pay for 739 officers — and continue to collect the Measure Y revenue — after everything shakes out.
"I'm going to hope that we can," Dellums said. "But I believe at the end of the day, we're going to have to find other resources outside of the COPS program to fill that gap of 140 if we're going to fill it."
What that seems to mean: the city will get a portion of the grant. Not the whole thing.
Election time
Ballots go out next week for Oakland's mail-only special election, in which voters will decide on four ballot measures that could generate $7 million or $8 million for the city in the next year.
Ballots must be received by the Alameda County Registrar of Voters by 8 p.m. July 21. They can be mailed or dropped off at the registrar's office at 1225 Fallon St. in Oakland.
For summaries of the measures, including arguments for and against, visit www.oaklandnet.com.