Easier said than done
Facing large deficit, Hayward leaders are intent on monitoring spending amid a budget crisis, but MOUs the council previously negotiated with its public safety units are making it difficult
MORNING BUZZ Q&A
—Thank you to everyone who came out for the first Morning Buzz Q&A at Prescott Market in Oakland.
—Thank you to Oakland Council President Kevin Jenkins for taking our questions, Mark Kahn from the Oakland Ballers, the team at Prescott Market, and Trishala Vinnakota!
☕️MORNING BUZZ
—Hayward officials are clearly focused on solving its bleak budget forecast, but no matter how fine a comb they run through their spending, two items on Tuesday’s council meeting revealed just how difficult it may be to narrow its considerable shortfall.
Councilmember Julie Roche pulled the item from the consent calendar, which would authorize an agreement with U.C. Davis for an educational licensing program over two years.
She said the allocation, though already in the budget, deserved scrutiny given the city’s projected deficit.
“I made a promise two weeks ago that we’re going to be looking at everything—everything is on the table—as we deal with this budget crisis,” Roche said.
She pressed city staff on whether the training could be delayed. Employees must complete the program within 24 months and the city is legally obligated to pay for it, city staff said.
Failing to approve the funding could amount to “bad faith bargaining” under labor law, warned new H.R. Director Ian Tecson.
Similarly, the council’s hands are tied when it came to obligations the city made to four police captains, as part of a Memorandum of Understanding.
—The mayor and council recently agreed to a 6.5 percent pay cut that amount to $19,000 in savings. But it was followed by approval of pay raises topping 11 percent were approved on Tuesday for the police captains, totaling $294,000.
Roche emphasized that her concerns were not directed at labor groups. “Everybody deserves what they’re owed and what they bargained for,” she said. “It’s just that, given the current situation, showing raises is really difficult from the community’s perspective.”
Hayward is facing a budget shortfall estimated to have grown to more than $20 million, a gap city officials say could force cuts to services and staffing.
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