Lack of Oakland leadership led to missing retail theft prevention grant deadline: audit

(KRON) — A lack of leadership by Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and a lack of guidance led to the city missing the deadline for applying for California’s retail theft prevention grant, according to a report released Tuesday by the Office of the City Auditor.

In the report, auditors detailed the events that led the beleaguered city to potentially miss out on funds that would have bolstered efforts to curb retail theft.

The city learned about the Organized Retail Theft Prevention (ORTP) Grant Program in April 2023 and the Oakland Police Department immediately started preparing an application requesting $5 million to buy automated license plate readers, security cameras and vehicles, the report stated.

Oakland’s Economic and Workforce Development Department (EWD) learned of the ORTP grant in early June 2023 and began working on a new application without first consulting the police department, auditors said. After nearly a month of working on the second grant application, EWD became aware of Oakland PD’s application efforts on June 20.

Alameda County supervisors certify Pamela Price recall signatures, push effort forward

With the July 7 deadline less than two weeks away, Oakland PD staff organized a meeting with the police department, EWD and the city council president. From that meeting, the application’s request went from $5 million for equipment — which the audit notes is in line with other successful applications — to $15.6 million to include “safety ambassadors, staff for crime prevention through environmental design, and staff dedicated to analyzing data and problem solving.”

In the end, the audit found that no one knew who was in charge of applying and both departments struggled to submit different elements of the application, even beyond the deadline.

“The application may have been submitted timely had the Mayor exercised more leadership over the ORTP grant,” the report summary reads. “While grant management is not necessarily the Mayor’s responsibility, as the Mayor indicated in her State of the City Address, the Mayor does have responsibility over the City Administration. It is appropriate for the Mayor or designee to seize control of important initiatives like the ORTP grant. Mayoral leadership would have eliminated any ambiguity about who was in charge.”

Without an application being submitted on time, Oakland potentially missed out on millions in funding for staffing and equipment, auditors conclude.

“The City has already identified changes to improve its prospects for securing future grants, including hiring a grants coordinator dedicated to public safety grants and acquiring grants management software,” according to the report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.