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City Stages New Raid on Measure Y Funds
The City plans on taking Measure Y money in apparent violation of law in order to fund a new program that will offer comfort to the families of homicide victims.
The program, called the Oakland Community Response and Support Network (CRSN), is described as
"a community-based, neighbor-to-neighbor support system for people who are effect [should be: affected] by violent crimes, particularly homicides. It will provide support for basic needs, intensive support services, referrals to outside organizations, support groups and general comfort. Professional mental health support and services will also be available as needed and requested." (CRSN Request for Proposal, Oct. 2, 2006, p. 3)
The City plans to fund the CRSN program with $540,000 from Measure Y taxes. Measure Y was written and passed with specific requirements on the use of funds in three areas. Two areas, hiring more police and funding fire stations, are not relevant to the CRSN program. How about the third major area, violence prevention programs? Here is what Measure Y requires:
Section 3. Use Of Proceeds
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2. Violence Prevention Services With an Emphasis on Youth and Children:
Expand preventive social services provided by the City of Oakland, or by adding capacity to community-based nonprofit programs with demonstrated past success for the following objectives:
a. Youth outreach counselors: hire and train personnel who will reach out, counsel and mentor at-risk adolescents and young adults by providing services and presenting employment opportunities;
b. After and in school program for youth and children: expand existing City programs and City supported programs that provide recreational, academic tutoring and mentoring opportunities for at-risk adolescents and children during after school hours; expand truancy enforcement programs to keep kids in school.
c. Domestic violence and child abuse counselors: make available counselors who will team with police and the criminal justice system to assist victims of domestic violence or child prostitution and to find services that help to avoid repeat abuse situations; expand early childhood intervention programs for children exposed to violence in the home at an early age.
d. Offender/parolee employment training: provide parolee pre-release employment skills training and provide employers with wage incentives to hire and train young offenders or parolees
Which of these objectives authorizes funding for the proposed CRSN victim-comfort program? None of them! The issue is not whether CRSN is a good idea. Maybe it is the most important need today, maybe not. In any case, CRSN is clearly an after-the-fact response to violence, not a violence prevention program authorized by any provision of Measure Y.
If City Hall is determined to have a victim-comfort program, let councilmembers find general fund money for it. For example, councilmember Quan could give up her incessant demands to give Chabot Science Center more money, if she really thinks a CRSN program is more important.
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Forget what we promised voters! |
Instead of making such choices, City Hall insiders just raid Measure Y funds – the law be damned. Doing so frees up general fund money for councilmembers' playthings.
The raid on Measure Y for a victim-comfort program is not the first violation of the ordinance. Earlier this year, the council committed $1.5 million to Youth UpRising despite its promotion of sideshow culture among youth.
Now, just a few weeks before voters decide on yet another alphabet tax – Measure N, a $148 million bond issue for a new palace library – we get a further cautionary example of the City's contempt for funding commitments. Measure N has a built-in contradiction: the palace library would almost surely go over budget, at which time the council would postpone indefinitely even the few crumbs of improvements listed for branch libraries in the neighborhoods. The new violation of Measure Y forewarns us that Measure N would raise our taxes but not provide us what we are promised.
Your vote against Measure N is not only a rejection of the proposal for its many particular flaws; it is also a protest against the fiscal lawlessness of the city council.
– Oct. 14, 2006
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