OAKLAND — A state appeals court has sided squarely with the city in a lawsuit over its use of Measure Y funding, a 2004 voter-approved violence-prevention ordinance.
The appellate panel ruled Friday that the city did not violate the law by spending millions of Measure Y dollars on new police hires that would not be placed in the “problem-solving” positions outlined in the ordinance.
Oakland resident Marleen Sacks sued the city in 2008 and again this year, demanding that it repay $15 million in funds that she said were misspent.
In 2009, Alameda Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch ruled that the city had illegally used the funds in its 2008 recruiting drive — money that would have to be repaid from the general fund.
The appellate court reversed that part of Roesch’s ruling. It also upheld the superior court’s denial of Sack’s request for attorney fees.
“We conclude that the City did not make an impermissible use of Measure Y funds by indirectly hiring and training new officers to replace veteran officers who were assigned to the neighborhood beat positions added by the ordinance,” the appellate court ruling states.
