Fresno adopts $1.2B budget with funds for gang prevention, no job cuts — for now
Fresno City Council adopted a $1.2 billion budget with no layoffs on Tuesday with a continuing resolution, which means they’ll be back in a few months to adopt a long-term spending plan after they have a better idea how much the coronavirus hurt the economy.
Mayor Lee Brand proposed the continuing resolution in May as his administration said the next year’s revenue will remain murky until after the state gets a better hold on COVID-19’s impact.
Essentially, the city will spend in the first quarter of the 2020-21 fiscal year at the same level it is during the current fiscal year. The administration will be able to provide essential services while spending money cautiously until the true budget — and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic — is clear.
It’s the city’s first resolution of that kind in 23 years under the strong mayor system, according to the mayor’s office.
“This is an unprecedented measure for an unprecedented moment in our city’s history,” Brand said in a statement. “I look forward to working with council in the coming months to discuss our financial status with the courage and commitment to weather this storm and come through this crisis as a better, safer and more united community.”
Brand’s administration said in April the city is looking at a dip of almost $40 million in revenue with the caveat that the financial hit may eventually be much worse from the coronavirus pandemic. His team has said they are not planning layoffs or furloughs immediately, but those cuts remain on the table.
The council is looking to revisit the budget in 45 to 60 days.
Councilmember Paul Caprioglio leaves the council in December and said his final budget process was a difficult one.
“Quite frankly, this is the most challenging budget I dealt with in my eight years on the council,” he said.
Defund the police
The city, like many others, has faced the impacts of the coronavirus followed by the unrest after a video of Minneapolis police killing George Floyd became public. Floyd was just the latest in the killings of people of color that led to allegations of police brutality.
Going into the budget season, the council heard a call from vocal members of the Fresno community who asked city leaders to defund the police.
Advocates said the idea was to find other ways for public servants to respond to 911 calls rather than always sending officers. The idea does not necessarily mean abolishing the police force.
To that end, the City Council approved the funding of a three-year contract with Advance Peace, a prevention program that identifies the city’s most likely shooters and crosschecks them with police, according to Aaron Foster, who is behind the program in Fresno. Those potential shooters are asked to join a program run by advocates.
Kimberly McCoy, the program director for Fresno Building Healthy Communities, said she appreciates the council’s funding of the program and hopes it will be a long-term investment. “These are gang members who want to change and who want to get out the life,” she said.
The council also formed a police reform committee, which is charged to bring back recommendations within 90 days. The council asked the committee to weigh in on rearranging some calls for service that are handled by police, such as those that deal with mental illness or homelessness.
Councilmember Esmeralda Soria said she was skeptical of the mayor’s request for a continuing resolution but was ultimately satisfied with where the preliminary budget stands.
Soria got support Tuesday to move the graffiti abatement team away from the police department to the Parks, After school, Recreation and Community Services department. She also set up the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Community Engagement, which will exist under the parks department.
“I want to say major props to all the community folks that chimed in during this budget process,” she said. “I think it was probably one of the most robust budget processes that we’ve had, at least in my time.”
