Where Does the City of Oakland Get Its Money?

Click on the graph to enlarge to see where the General Fund sources.

The City's overall budget is just over $1 billion annually. 54% of those funds are restricted and can only be spent for a designated purpose. These are some of the restricted fund categories:

• Federal & state grants: Stimulus grants, Head Start, Affordable Housing & Homeless Services grants, COPS grants for police
• Voter approved funds for specific purposes: Park bonds, Measure DD for Lake Merritt, creek & estuary improvements, Measure O for libraries, Measure Y for police and prevention programs.
• Redevelopment district funds: Mostly to repay improvements in these districts

This chart above breaks down the sources of the City's General Fund. This is the fund that the Council has the ability to spend with some restrictions. The chart below in the first post shows how we spend the General Fund now.

While Property Taxes are the largest single source, they only represent 26%. For the first time in over 30 years property tax income will go down. Property tax adjustments and recent sales of foreclosed homes will probably bring our property tax revenues down about 2% or about $5 million.

Real estate transfer taxes are the next largest source, they are significantly down in the real estate meltdown. This accounts for a large part of next year's shortfall. The transfer taxes from the housing boom in recent years funded many programs including the growing shortfall in the Landscape and Light District (park, median, and lighting maintenance) which has not received a cost of living increase since 1993.