Fresno council adds $5 million to parks budget. Here are some other late additions
The Fresno City Council added $5 million on Tuesday to the city’s parks-related budget in a round of its latest additions to the spending plan.
That money is on top of the $35.6 million earmarked for the Parks, After School, Recreation and Community Services department. The final budget could be adopted next week.
Fresno’s parks have been hurting from the Great Recession, which led to cuts across the city. But, parks advocates note that while funding has come back to many departments, the parks department has not recovered.
Parks advocates tried to garner support for a new tax with Measure P in 2018, which proposed a 3/8-cent sales tax that would’ve generated $37.5 million annually for 30 years for Fresno parks and cultural arts.
Measure P received about 52% yes votes but needed a two-thirds approval. Advocates have argued the bar was set too high and it’s now tied up in a lawsuit.
A few ideas have been floated for the extra $5 million — including irrigation at a park in District 2 and furniture for a senior center in District 1 — but the projects are not final.
The council adopted a $1.2 billion temporary budget on June 30 with a continuing resolution, which is why the council is revisiting the spending plan this month as the effects of the coronavirus pandemic become more clear.
Mayor Lee Brand asked the council to revisit the plan again in about three months because COVID-19’s effects are still murky.
Here some other late additions to Fresno’s 2020-21 budget:
- $2.2 million — Fresno Fire Department to get 21 new firefighter positions this year, and 21 more next fiscal year. Funding matches with the Staffing For Adequate Fire And Emergency Response grant.
- $1 million — Earmarked for recommendations from the Commission on Police Reform though the actual recommendations have not yet been made.
- $500,000 — Cleanup at Maxie L. Parks Community Center, which has tested positive for toxic chemicals. The funding is supposed to come from state dollars, officials said.
- $275,000 —Comprehensive fiscal impact analysis on the General Plan, which has drawn scrutiny in the past year. The council is studying whether it needs an update.
- $250,000 — Public Works truck study in partnership with the San Joaquin Air Control District.
- $100,000 — General fund dollars toward rehabilitation at 4403 E. Tulare St., which houses Fresno Barrios Unidos.
- Though no dollar value was immediately available, the council will look at providing a right to counsel for tenants facing evictions.
This story was originally published October 21, 2020 at 11:58 AM.
