With crime rising, should Fresno use $10 million in stimulus funds on police? Some say ‘no’
Residents and community groups are urging Fresno city leaders to engage the public on how to spend millions of dollars of stimulus funds — which they say should be used to close racial, health, economic, and wealth gaps in the city rather than on expanding the police budget.
The comments came Thursday during the regular meeting of the Fresno City Council. City leaders have been debating how to distribute $38 million of American Rescue Plan Act funding, the first distribution of the approximately $171 million that the city has to spend.
The funds, which federal officials have said are meant to help communities hurt by the coronavirus pandemic, have been described as a “once in a generation opportunity” to address inequality in Fresno.
But during Thursday’s city council meeting, multiple people said the city needed a more equitable budget plan.
Some criticized the nearly $10 million in ARPA funding dedicated to the city’s police department.
“We do not care about your police budget,” said Rain Chamberlain, who uses they/them pronouns, during Thursday’s city council meeting. “We care about our lives, we care about our well-being, and we care about our voices.”
They urged the city to conduct “multiple layers of community forums” for the “unusual amount of money” coming to the city.
How do Fresnans want to spend the stimulus funds?
Janine Nkosi, regional adviser for Faith in the Valley and Fresno State faculty member, said the city needed to create an “equitable public process” to ensure that people most impacted by ”systemic inequities” have a voice. She said that a $10 million investment in the police budget would be a “slap in the face” to the Commission on Police Reform created last year.
“Do not squander this opportunity,” said Nkosi.
Other groups, including Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability and Fresno Barrios Unidos, echoed Nkosi, saying the city should spend ARPA funds on housing and rent stabilization, mental health services, and programs for at-risk youth and the formerly incarcerated. Numerous public comments were also submitted online.
“We should not continue to perpetuate the cycle of indifference which is caused by violence that is consuming the city,” said Christopher Washington, an organizer and Fresno community member. “I believe that we should investigate and allocate funds that speak to this major public health crisis.”
A recent survey published earlier this week also shed light on how many Fresnans want to see the city’s funds spent.
The UC Merced Community and Labor Center published the results of its Fresno Speaks 2021 survey, which center leaders say is “the only representative survey series in the city since the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic.”
The survey reported:
- COVID-19 remains the top concern for Fresno households
- Strong support for preventative solutions to public safety and police reform
- Health and loss of income are the top important issues for Fresno households
- Voters prefer people-centered investments with the city budget and local taxes
According to the Fresno Speaks 2021 survey, about 29% of Fresnans wanted to see increased spending on mental health services to reduce gang violence, and 21% wanted to see more youth summer and after-school programs. Only 17% wanted to see more spending on police funding to reduce gang violence.
How does the city plan to spend the money?
While the multi-million dollar ARPA spending plan included funding for the fire department, public works, economic development and homelessness projects, much of the conversation centered on the $10 million for the police department.
Some residents criticized the budget, particularly the funding of sniper rifles, weapons and undercover cars.
Councilmembers Mike Karbassi and Garry Bredefeld spoke in favor of increasing the police budget, pointing to the rise in crime.
“I think that we’re facing a crisis right now when it comes to safety in our community,” said Karbassi.
Mayor Jerry Dyer on Thursday said violent crime is up 8% in Fresno.
But not all agree on how to address public safety.
“We’ve made a record amount of investments in the police department; more than $40 million over the last few years,” said Councilmember Miguel Arias.
“Public safety is not just about a police department,” said Arias, who asked for a more “balanced” budget proposal around public safety, including the Advanced Peace program.
Council Vice President Nelson Esparza said that he wanted to see a workshop or presentation to engage the community “out of respect for the public process.”
Council President Luis Chavez said the council is listening to community concerns.
“I don’t want there to be a perception that this council just arbitrarily put in projects,” said Chavez. “This is actually gathered with community input in a very robust process,” he said, adding that during the budget process, each council district submitted a list of projects based on community input.
The discussion on how to spend the ARPA funds resumes on Dec. 9.
This story was originally published December 3, 2021 at 8:00 AM.
