Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is speaking out regarding an amended agreement to sell the city's 50% share of the Oakland Coliseum to the African American Sports and Entertainment Group.
The group is now slated to pay $125 million in three payments. The city has already received $15 million, and a larger payment of $95 million is scheduled for next May. As more development on the site occurs, the city will get the remaining $15 million.
"I want to be very clear: This sale of the Coliseum was a creative idea by my administration, not the silver bullet to solve our budget issues; it never was," Thao said.
The new deal will allow the city to receive the money faster, but it eliminates a $33 million payment in January. The payment was important to the city's first-quarter funding to address the budget crisis.
Now, with the later payment in spring 2025, the Oakland police union fears it could impact the Oakland Police Department's staffing.
"I worry about an entire restructure, some of our divisions being shut down," said Sgt. Tim Dolan, vice president of the Oakland Police Officers Association. "One less officer on the street is 25 less calls for service they can go to every day. I worry about the people we serve."
Thao said Oakland will receive a report on its first quarter budget by the end of the month, and based on those numbers, it will make decisions.
In the meantime, Thao said other measures will be taken to address the deficit, including freezing hiring for vacant positions and limiting travel for city employees.
"We're already doing all the different things we can to set ourselves up to be in a really strong place come next year," Thao said.
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