Clovis is getting more police officers thanks to Measure Y. Here are the details
Clovis plans to allocate $10.4 million of its new Measure Y sales tax funds to its police and fire departments, adding five new police officer positions and nine fire positions.
That figure represents 76% of the $13.4 million in Measure Y spending included in the fiscal year 2026 budget proposal the Clovis City Council is expected to approve Monday.
The spending falls short of the $26 million the 1% sales tax, which went into effect April 1, is estimated to generate annually for the city — for good reason, according to city officials.
Officials say they’re wary of an economic downturn and unsure of how much, exactly, the new sales tax will bring to city coffers.
“I don’t think we should count on $26 million in year one. I don’t know how to get there at another right percentage, but I do not think that is a smart move,” Councilmember Lynne Ashbeck said at a March council meeting. “If we go down that road and then we have a 2008 (recession) again, and we get $12 million in sales tax, it will really evolve into nothing. I worry about that.”
Clovis voters passed Measure Y in November with two-thirds support under the impression the sales tax increase would mostly go toward funding the city’s police and fire departments. Clovis has long struggled to invest in public services to keep up with the city’s rapid population growth.
The number of Clovis police officers and firefighters has remained constant for the last 20 years, while the resident population has increased by 50%.
How much of an impact will Measure Y funds have on public safety?
Here’s a breakdown of the city’s inaugural $13.7 million Measure Y budget.
Taxes will support existing city services
Measure Y is a general tax, meaning the city can spend the tax dollars on any general services. And the city plans to use part of the new tax revenue to maintain existing services.
Clovis’ General Fund faces a $14 million deficit over the next five fiscal years if the city maintains current staffing levels without help from Measure Y, according to city finance director Jay Schengel.
The city’s Measure Y expenditure plan budgets $5.1 million to be transferred to the General Fund to keep the current level of services, according to the city’s proposed budget.
Of this amount, $3.1 million and $1.3 million will go to police and fire departments to support existing services. Another $700,000 will help upgrade facilities and equipment, including the replacement and maintenance of service trucks, administrative vehicles, IT hardware and software, and equipment for parks.
Including related administrative expenses — such as staff salaries and benefits, maintenance and repairs, and project costs — nearly $6 million will be allocated to support various city departments.
Strong call for maintaining public safety
Measure Y’s ballot language stated ten goals and priorities, including: maintaining public safety, keeping the city safe and clean, addressing homelessness, repairing streets and roads, and supporting the city’s youth and parks programs.
Recognizing residents’ strong desire to prioritize police and fire, the initial draft of the city’s Measure Y expenditure plan, presented in late March, budgeted 92% of the $26 million for public safety.
The latest budget proposal, unveiled May 19, allocates $5.8 million of the $13.7 million spending plan.
Taylor Danielson, the city’s communications and marketing analyst, said the May 19 budget proposal is more conservative than the March plan, with only half as much money budgeted, because of uncertainty about the accuracy of sales-tax revenue estimates.
“This additional revenue (about $12.5 million) is not currently budgeted due to the conservative approach but is allocated for public safety when revenues become available,” Danielson said in an email.
According to a city presentation, if Measure Y generates the full estimated revenue of $26.2 million, 40% (or $10.6 million) will go toward fulfilling the goal of maintaining public safety, 3% will be used to support other government departments, and 1% will address homelessness. Adding to the 48% of the unallocated additional revenue, a combination of 92% of Measure Y will focus on public safety.
Danielson said the council prefers to amend the budget after receiving the actual tax dollars.
Clovis remains committed to use Measure Y to fund 50 additional police positions, 18 additional fire positions, and 14 parks and streets positions by fiscal year 2030, as the initial plan presented in March.
“There has been no change in planned positions,” Danielson said. “However, the timing of any new positions will be dependent on the economy and available revenues to fund new positions in the future.”
For next year, of the $5.8 million allocated specifically for maintaining public safety, nearly $2 million will create 20 positions for police and fire departments, including five police officers, nine fire department positions, one animal control officer, two community service officers, and other administrative supporting personnel. The remaining dollars will fund fire and police vehicles, renovate station facilities, and pay for other administrative and project costs.
The goal is to reduce the incident emergency response time by 17 seconds to 6.5 minutes, and to reduce the effective response force time for fire incidents by 77 seconds to 10.5 minutes, the fire department wrote in the proposed budget.
Tax will also fund Clovis parks and trails
The Measure Y expenditure plan also earmarks $897,100, or 7%, for safe and clean streets; and $509,800, or 3.7%, toward repairing streets and roads.
In an effort to beautify trails and parks, Clovis has set a goal of pruning 1,500 trees next year. An additional 100 trees with compromised health will be removed and new trees will be planted.
The city’s public utilities department has $376,100 budgeted for the maintenance of 500 street lights, 5,000 pounds of crack sealant, and 80 tons each of hot and cold mix to patch potholes in the asphalt pavement.
Measure Y will fund 35.5 of the city’s planned 50 new positions, making next year the most job additions in Clovis in recent years. The city currently has 663 employees.
A total of 11 positions for the police department and nine positions for the fire department are included in the budget proposal.
The number was determined with careful consideration given to hiring logistics and feasibility, said city officials.
“The allocation of sworn positions reflects a reasonable approach to hiring and onboarding within the first year, acknowledging the time required for recruitment and training,” said Paul Armendariz, assistant city manager.
This story was originally published June 2, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
