Oakland Coliseum sale payment dispute triggers concern of public safety cuts [Video]

An historic agreement between the City of Oakland and the African American Sports & Entertainment Group (AASEG) is a done deal, but there are concerns about critical payments.

Three Oakland councilmembers contend that because the city has not received an installment it believes is due, a contingency budget will kick in starting Tuesday, October 1. That means drastic public safety cuts could be made.

Councilmembers Noel Gallo, Janani Ramachandran and Treva Reid raised the alarm Tuesday over a lack of transparency, since they say the city has received no proof of payment that the initial $15 million from AASEG has been made. 

Although the Purchase and Sale Agreement was signed by September 1, the city has not confirmed receipt. They say the payment should have been made by the built-in grace period deadline of September 23. If it is not, the contingency budget goes into effect October 1. 

“The mayor’s proposed budget included $63 million that we did …