In the past two years, Oakland has made several unpopular budget cuts and fee increases, but cutting police could prove the most controversial in a city with a notoriously high crime rate.

City Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente said that Oakland might not have a choice, however, and that the city should be prepared to make the cuts as quickly as possible if necessary.

"We are getting to the end of the line here, the end of the rope," he said.

Voting for Tuesday's resolution were De La Fuente and council members Pat Kernighan, Nancy Nadel, Jean Quan and Desley Brooks. City Council President Jane Brunner and council members Larry Reid and Rebecca Kaplan abstained.

It is still possible that the council will find a way to fill the $31.5 million hole without cutting police from the 776-officer department. That looks difficult, however, given that about 75 percent of the city's $400 million general fund is spent on the police and fire departments — and the firefighters' contract protects them from being laid off.

The city is in discussions with the Oakland Police Officers Association about reopening the union's contract, though it is unclear whether officers will agree to more concessions. Police reopened their contract and agreed to millions in givebacks last year in order to save jobs.

Don Link, a North Oakland resident and anti-crime activist, said it was a bad strategy for the council to take even a small step toward laying off police in the middle of the union discussions.

"The police layoff proposal is essentially hitting someone in the nose to see if that person is friendly," he said. "It's not a good strategy. It's not likely to succeed."

Police Department officials have said that if the organization does lose officers, they will pull from specialized units such as gang detail and crime-reduction teams to keep patrol units responding to emergency calls adequately staffed.