Oakland city’s law enforcement agency was disqualified on Thursday from receiving anti-crime funding after submitting their proposal too late, CBS reported.
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Sept. 12 that hundreds of millions of dollars would be distributed to cities and counties in his state as part of an anti-crime initiative, CBS reported. The Bay Area city of Oakland, however, failed to submit their application on time and was disqualified from receiving the aid, the outlet reported.
Director of Communications for the California Board of State and Community Corrections Tracie Cone told CBS that legal counsel determined the city’s application did not meet the requirements.
“Oakland was disqualified from the ORT Grant Program since they did not submit their proposal by the submission deadline. Oakland said there was technical issues and it wouldn’t allow them to submit it before the deadline,” Tracie said, the outlet noted. “It was forwarded to legal and determination from the BSCC’s legal counsel [was] ‘the City of Oakland did not meet the necessary requirements for a successful application submission and will therefore, not be eligible for funding consideration.”
Frustrated Oakland community leaders rallied Monday to demand answers after the city botching the application process for millions of dollars in state crime fighting funds. https://t.co/Dd9sgWnYEe
— CBS News Bay Area (@KPIXtv) September 18, 2023
“We certainly accept responsibility – I accept responsibility – for what was lost,” city administrator Jestin Johnson said, the outlet noted.
“‘Missed the deadline’ sounds like negligence. Sounds like somebody was not focused on what was needed; what was necessary to do,” Greg McConnell, CEO of McConnell Group and a member of the city’s NAACP, remarked to the outlet. (RELATED: ‘The Criminals Killed Us’: Local Restaurant Closes As Rampant Crime Consumes Blue City)
“The buck stops with the mayor. This is the mayor’s fault. It stops with the mayor. We need to hear from the mayor,” Oakland NAACP President Cynthia Adams told CBS.
Oakland merchants are planning a business strike over the incident, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.