Mayor Quan Braces For Oakland's Budget Battle
OAKLAND (KCBS) - A day after meeting with President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden - in conjunction with the U.S. Conference of Mayors' annual meeting in Baltimore - Oakland Mayor Jean Quan was back in the Bay Area, gearing up for what was expected to be a heated debate at Tuesday's City Council meeting.
The potentially explosive topic at City Hall: Oakland faces an estimated $58 million deficit. That means the question facing local leaders is what to do about it - specifically, what to trim, where to cut back, and how to balance the books.
Quan expressed hope that she could secure across-the-board pay cut concessions from Oakland's city workers, in as much as the 9 - 10 percent range.
"All of our unions are at the table, even those who don't have open contracts, that includes police and fire, which are two-thirds of my budget," she declared. "I wouldn't say we're there but we're making progress. And I'm optimistic that we'll get there by the end of the month."
KCBS' Chris Filippi Reports:
The nation's overall gloomy economic picture was the main topic of discussion when Quan and a handful of her mayoral counterparts held court with Obama and Biden Monday. They pressed the White House for more movement in the area of job creation.
"We're making the argument to the president that investments in job training in those cities are a good investment for the whole economy," she explained.
She accused Republicans of making a point of trying to trim job-training dollars.
"At a time when we're trying to grow the economy and put people back to work, it's a real problem for us."
The Oakland City Council Meeting was slated to begin at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall Council Chambers, One Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland.
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