Oakland’s mayor has proposed a two-year budget of $3.2 billion that increases spending on fire inspectors, homeless services and affordable housing, but the plan is being criticized by City Council members who say it doesn’t go far enough to fund those priorities.

Mayor Libby Schaaf’s proposed budget released Wednesday, also signed by City Administrator Sabrina Landreth, details spending for July 2019 through June 2021 — following the city’s custom of two-year fiscal cycles. The mayor’s priorities reflect a growing trend throughout California for more investment in fire protection and addressing homelessness, as well as a big boost for street paving.

Overall spending represents a 15% rise from fiscal 2017-18. Spending on police would stay roughly flat as a share of the overall budget while parks and recreation would freeze hiring, leaving eight positions open.

“Though cranes are rising across the skyline and Oakland’s revenues are growing at a steady rate due to the strong real estate market, the city’s expenses continue to rise faster than revenues,” Schaaf wrote in her budget letter to the council and Oakland residents.

When the budget development process began, there was an estimated $49 million annual gap across all funds, according to the mayor’s letter. To achieve a balanced budget, the mayor and city staff did not add any major increases to services that are not cost recovering or funded through a project or grant.

Council President Rebecca Kaplan said one of her biggest concerns is the elimination of parks-maintenance positions because it would “decimate” the city’s parks. Her sentiments were echoed by council member Nikki Fortunato Bas.

“It’s a real shame to see one of the reductions is in park maintenance when our population is growing and has been growing,” Bas said.

Schaaf proposed adding 11 new positions to the city’s Fire Prevention Bureau, which is tasked with annually inspecting all commercial buildings and certain residential properties. The proposal nearly doubles the bureau’s current staff of 12 and comes just 2½ years after a deadly blaze killed 36 people at the Ghost Ship artists collective.

In 2017, the city determined that the warehouse wasn’t in the Fire Department’s database and no one had ever stepped foot on the premises for a formal inspection. The new staff would be responsible for conducting citywide inspections, issuing permits efficiently and managing vegetation.

The increase in staff is part of an ongoing effort to boost the number of fire inspectors. In Oakland’s 2017-19 biannual budget, the city allocated funds to bring the total number of inspectors from eight to 20.

The mayor called for an investment of $1.1 million per year of the budget cycle for wildfire prevention. The deadliest year for wildfires in state history was in 2018, when the Camp Fire leveled the town of Paradise and killed 85 people.

The 1991 Oakland hills fire killed 25 people and destroyed 3,469 homes.

But Kaplan said these extra funds don’t properly address wildfire threats to parts of the city.

“It’s definitely not enough and also doesn’t include plan(s) for long-term strategy,” she said.

Kaplan said she plans to develop a renewed strategy that would include more funding to remedy risks and remove brush in the Oakland hills on both private and public property earlier in the season.

Schaaf also proposed spending $8.9 million on homeless emergency aid. In total, the mayor called for $21.3 million to be spent on homelessness compared with $11 million in the previous biennial budget.

Included in the total is $5.1 million for the installation and management of community cabins, or Tuff Sheds, at different locations and $1.5 million for the city’s Safe Car Parking Program. Both Bas and Kaplan commended these efforts, but said these funds are not enough to address the dire need for homelessness solutions.

As the city undergoes a transformation with new developments like the MacArthur Transit Village in North Oakland and cranes dotting downtown Oakland’s skyline, the mayor called for an investment of $30 million from Measure KK for new affordable housing developments. That $30 million is on top of the $55 million from the general fund that is already allocated for affordable housing in the budget. Schaaf also called for $18.6 million to be put toward the construction of 465 affordable housing units at Brooklyn Basin.

“What the mayor pulled out in her transmittal letter is that $55.4 million will be dedicated to affordable housing,” Bas said. “That is just 1.7% of the total two-year budget. And for homelessness, $21.3 million will be allocated. That is just 0.6% of the total budget. I think it is really important for us to invest where we need it most in our city, which I do think is really providing quality, timely services and housing solutions.”

The Police Department represents a total of 19.97% of the total budget — higher than any other city department. That’s about the same percentage as last cycle but still represents an $8.4 million increase.

Bas and Kaplan said the budget doesn’t reflect the overtime that is spent by the department.

In the 2018 and 2019 fiscal years, the Police Department has spent over $19 million in overtime, money that was not budgeted for that purpose.

“No other department has such massive overspending,” Kaplan said.

Schaaf’s other priorities include $110.6 million for transportation-related capital infrastructure, five times more than what was allocated in the previous budget cycle. That $110.6 million includes $75.8 million in Measure KK money for repaving roads.

After a series of town halls to engage residents, the City Council will approve and adopt the budget by June 30. City Council members filed their budget priorities in February, and their requests were taken into consideration, Schaaf said in her letter.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani