How Oakland is run
Who runs Oakland, what it costs, and where your money goes
The city manager, council pay, the budget, your property tax bill and who provides each service, from Oakland's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Oakland
The elected mayor heads the city government and appoints its top administrator and department heads. The council passes laws, adopts the budget and sets the tax rate.
What they are paid
- Severance of six months' base salary if the mayor ends the agreement
- Stays in the CalPERS retirement system
- Eligible for medical, dental, vision and executive-level employee benefits
- No city match for deferred compensation
- Assigned parking space in the City Hall garage
Oakland city staff
2,433 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27. All-funds total in the mayor's proposed midcycle budget. The General Purpose Fund pays for 2,137.55 of the 2,432.69 positions. City of Oakland · Jun 5, 2026
The city's salary ordinance lists the pay range for every job class, from clerks to the mayor and City Administrator. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Oakland in the red?
Cities must pass a balanced budget, so "profit" and "deficit" mean something different here. The useful questions: does the city's everyday money (the general fund) cover its everyday costs, how much does it keep in savings compared with its own target, and how big are its pension and debt bills.
The city's own outlook
The mayor calls the city chronically financially distressed: the cost of city services grows faster than recurring revenues. The FY2026-27 midcycle budget closes the gap left by an assumed $40 million parcel tax by freezing vacant positions and cutting contracts, and it uses one-time revenues for ongoing costs. It does not count on Measure E revenue. It funds 678 sworn police officers, 22 short of the 700 that Measure NN requires. The mayor says the budget is balanced and reduces the structural deficit but is not sufficient. City of Oakland · May 15, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $191M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep General Purpose Fund reserves of at least 7.5% of General Purpose Fund appropriations. On June 30, 2025 the Emergency Reserve ($63.8 million) plus the unassigned General Purpose Fund balance ($34.6 million) totaled $98.4 million, above the $59.9 million the policy required. Most of the general fund's unassigned balance is outside the General Purpose Fund. City of Oakland · Dec 30, 2025
Why we skip the "budgeted deficit": many cities plan to dip into savings, then spend less than planned. The audited result tells you what really happened.
Where the money comes from and goes
The general fund only: the city's everyday money for FY2026-27.
Comes from
- Property tax$313M · 38%
- Business license tax$134M · 16%
- Sales tax$91.5M · 11%
- Utility consumption tax$75.1M · 9%
- Real estate transfer tax$72M · 9%
- Service charges$57.3M · 7%
- Fines and penalties$29.2M · 4%
- Other (hotel and parking taxes, fund balance, transfers, interest, misc.)$41.2M · 5%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$342M · 42%
- Fire$213M · 26%
- Non-departmental$46.1M · 6%
- Human Services$32.7M · 4%
- Transportation$28.2M · 3%
- Finance$27M · 3%
- City Attorney$24.8M · 3%
- Other (library, parks, mayor and council, administration, other departments)$98.5M · 12%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Oakland is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityOakland Police DepartmentCity of Oakland · May 15, 2026
- FireThe cityOakland Fire DepartmentCity of Oakland · May 15, 2026
- EMS / ambulanceThe cityOakland Fire Department (emergency medical response); Falck (ambulance transport under Alameda County's contract)The budget starts an Oakland Fire Department ambulance programCity of Oakland · May 15, 2026
- 911 dispatchThe cityOakland Police Department communications center and Oakland Fire Dispatch CenterThe Fire Dispatch Center processes about 77,882 calls a yearCity of Oakland · May 15, 2026
- WaterSeparate districtEast Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD)City of Oakland · May 15, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity of Oakland (sewers and storm drains); EBMUD (wastewater treatment)City of Oakland · May 15, 2026
- TrashContractorWaste Management of Alameda County (city franchise)City of Oakland · May 15, 2026
- SchoolsSeparate districtOakland Unified School DistrictCity of Oakland · May 15, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of OaklandCity of Oakland · May 15, 2026
- Streets, sidewalks and traffic signalsThe cityCity of OaklandCity of Oakland · May 15, 2026
- Public transitSeparate districtAC Transit (buses) and BART (rail)City of Oakland · May 15, 2026
Compared with similar cities
The cities in this state closest in population that we cover. Read it for scale, not as a ranking: cities provide different services.
| Per city | AnaheimCA | BakersfieldCA | OaklandCA | FresnoCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 340,433 | 422,853 | 429,591 | 560,948 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | $240,001 | $404,823 | $328,932 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $1,200 | $114,243 | $97,184 |
| General fund per resident | $1,685 | $1,045 | $1,904 | $974 |
| Debt per resident | $5,185 | $248 | $1,930 | $1,556 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $2,444 | $1,336 | $4,131 | $-620 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 6.2 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 8.8 |
Figures as shown in each city's section, divided by its population. Years differ by state, and pension figures are measured differently in each state (each city page says how).
What Oakland publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes list each member's vote, e.g. the 6-2 vote adopting the FY2026-27 midcycle budget on June 12, 2026. City of Oakland
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineAgendas link to live video on the city's Legistar calendar and KTOP; final minutes are posted with each meeting. City of Oakland
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe salary ordinance and its agenda report state council pay of $114,243.13 a year from July 4, 2026. City of Oakland
- Yes: Employee pay publishedThe salary schedule attached to salary ordinance amendments lists monthly pay by job class, from cooks to the mayor. City of Oakland
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 budget funds 678 sworn police officers, 22 short of the 700 that Measure NN requires. What will it cost to reach 700, and by when?
- The midcycle budget uses one-time revenues to pay ongoing costs. How much of the $817.9 million General Purpose Fund budget depends on one-time money, and what replaces it in FY2027-28?
- Net pension liability was $1.77 billion on June 30, 2025, most of it in the CalPERS safety plan. How fast will the city's yearly pension payments grow?
- The interim City Administrator's agreement ends January 15, 2027. When will the mayor name a permanent administrator for council confirmation?
The fiscal year starts July 1, and Oakland adopts a two-year budget, which the council adopted on June 11, 2025 for FY2025-27. The mayor published the FY2026-27 midcycle proposal on May 15, 2026. The council adopted the amended midcycle budget 6-2 on June 12, 2026. The charter requires adoption by June 30. See who is running for council
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about Oakland next?
One tap, no sign-in. We count answers; we never show who chose what.
Every number here was checked by hand against the linked document. Cities publish on different schedules, so years differ between sections; each figure says which year it describes. Spotted something wrong or out of date?
See something wrong? Report an error
Something wrong or missing? Tell us what and where, with a link to a source if you have one. Reports feed the next verification run.