With support from the leadership of the mayor’s office and city council, the city administrator’s office shared this week that the expected temporary closures, or “brown outs,” of four additional fire stations will not be necessary this fiscal year, the city said in a press release.
Three stations already temporarily closed will remain so through June and are expected to reopen after the fiscal year ends.
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In July 2024, the city council adopted a contingency budget resolution that directed several expenditure reduction actions to close a projected budget shortfall of almost $130 million for the fiscal year that spans July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. These actions included a hiring freeze, the cancellation of two police academies, and the brownout of multiple fire stations. Many of these actions have been implemented by the city administrator’s office and the city departments. Additional steps have included the cancellation or reduction of city-issued grants, and the layoff of city employees. The city continues to face a shortfall, and additional hard choices will be necessary for the two-year budget process ahead.
However, the steps taken so far have been producing the intended results in the form of reduced projected shortfalls for the current year. City Administrator Jestin Johnson and the city’s budget team presented an update to the city council’s Finance and Management Committee on Thursday in a report summarizing recent expenditures and reductions.
This progress reducing the projected budget shortfall has been sufficient to cancel, for now, the previously announced plans to temporarily close additional fire stations.
“I want to thank my colleagues and the city administration for making the hard decisions that have prioritized fire protection,” Councilmember Zac Unger said. “Our Oakland firefighters do amazing work, but they can’t do it alone or without adequate resources. This decision protects our citizens, our firefighters, and our entire community.”
“This was made possible by the hard choices and the determined leadership of our mayor and our city council, and I thank them for their partnership to continue driving through these challenges toward sustainable fiscal balance,” City Administrator Jestin Johnson said.
Fire Stations 25 and 28, both located in the Oakland hills, were temporarily closed in January and will remain closed through June. They were identified as appropriate candidates for temporarily closure after close analysis of fire risk and service call data, among other strategic factors. They will be reopened in July as fire risks change with seasonal conditions. A third station temporarily closed for a renovation project will reopen when that project is complete.
