Last Thursday night, The Model City had their big vote. They essentially chose the lesser of two evils or the wimps way out, and once again lacked the fortitude or back bone to tackle the issues of budget deficits head on with a more decisive plan of action to reach budgetary solvency in the long term: Oakland votes to lay off 80 police officers

The Oakland City Council voted 5-3 Thursday to lay off 80 of the Police Department's 776 officers as it slashed at a $30.5 million budget deficit. The decision could be rescinded if the police union agrees to pension concessions.

Council members would like the officers to contribute 9 percent of their salaries toward their CalPERS pension, the same as every other city union worker.

Policemen contributing 9% to their own pension plan is not enough action to aid in curing the budget. Where's the salary cut, where the hard cap on overtime and other pay, where a significant raise in retirement age to at least 60 or 65. They can't get to budget solvency with Mickey Mouse solutions.

But police union officials see it differently.

They see a city that squandered money in good times and now is coming to employees to make up the difference. Firefighters pay into their pensions, but they were given a salary increase to make up the difference, Arotzarena said.

You can see anything you want the way you want, but police union officials are idiots if they really believe their above position. Yes, The Model City squandered money, and mostly on police and fire department pay and compensation plans.

The Model City continues down the path of insanity and stupidity, please see: Welcome to Oakland-The Model City and Welcome to Oakland-The Model City: Part Two, Oakland Police Brace for Cuts, Data Shows They are Overworked

The plan has one weird wrinkle:

It assumes that voters will pass a ballot measure in November that will suspend for three years a mandate that the Police Department have 739 officers. Without that suspension, the city will lose $20 million a year in police funding from a parcel tax that the voters approved in 2004.

If the parcel tax and the minimum staffing measures both fail, the city would be forced to lay off 202 officers by Jan. 1.

First, they made band aid solutions to balance budgets during the past few years in "hopes" the economy would turn around, so they wouldn't have to make the tougher decisions. Now, they "hope" the tax payer will vote to keep higher taxes. I think the public is getting tiresome of over paying public employees and without bigger concessions from unions, I'd be surprised to see the public vote for this tax to continue. It's a stupid policy to hope for the best while managing the worst.

Like other cities around the state, Oakland's property, sales and property transfer tax revenues have dried up during the Great Recession. The city's $407 million budget represents a revenue decline of $69 million in just five years.

At the same time, the city has been treating police and fire budgets as all but sacrosanct. As other city departments have been steadily whittled back, Oakland's budget has been increasingly dominated by public safety expenses.

The big reason we are starting to witness social outrage from the public is highlighted above. Citizens everywhere are tired of losing services because politicians and unions are afraid to tackle the union pay and compensation plan issue with any substance.

The Oakland Police Officers Association is seeking at least a two-year guarantee of no layoffs in return for pension concessions, something the council has been unwilling to do because future years have greater deficits.

"We have to look at the next five years and put this city in a position where we start correcting this incredible structural deficit," said Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente, a longtime labor leader.

De La Fuente has the right idea of looking longer term over 5 years. City officials are complete idiots if they guarantee no lay offs during the next 2 years. The city will be in budget short falls for the next few years, and they need to keep their options open. It also goes to show the unions are unrealistic about being apart of the fundamental solution.

The Model City will continue to model the budget deficit issue so common in America in a way that completely captures the shear lunacy and stupidity of some public officials and their strategies, and the overwhelming greed of public unions.

In the case of Oakland, the only viable solution is bankruptcy. This is due partly because they will never get real or ahead of this train wreck. Partly because they will experience declining tax revenues for the next few years, unless fees and taxes are raised. And last, because The Model City has no contractual right to lay off firemen, which will ultimately block the city from reaching budget solvency.

Oakland--I'm for BK (bankruptcy). How about you?

Hope all is well.