The Oakland City Council faces difficulties in coming up with a financial plan to reach the goal of reducing spending by $28.7 million. Meeting for the first time just days before the proposal deadline, many of the councils are finding it exasperating and may have to resolve to using a previous year?s guidelines for a financial layout. Unions for both firefighters and the police have agreed to significantly reduce their current benefits, including holidays, pensions, and essentially a freeze on wages.
See "Oakland City Council?s budget pressure intensifies", Matthai Kuruvila, San Francisco Gate, June 28, 2011