Tower District library? Middle East expert? Fresno council makes budget requests
Mayor Jerry Dyer and his staff are at work implementing nearly 100 spending motions, altering the priorities of the city’s $2.6 billion budget.
The Fresno City Council approved the motions Tuesday by a 7-0 unanimous vote. The budget suggestions range from public works projects to funding nonprofits. During four days of budget hearings last week, Fresno city councilmembers made 67 motions totaling more than $23 million. Several motions did not include a specific dollar amount.
Councilmembers proposed even more spending — staff was still crunching the new numbers and did not release updated figures before time of publication.
Dyer said he would have a reconciled budget in time for a scheduled vote on June 23. City law requires a balanced budget.
A new library in the Tower District could be the biggest beneficiary.
Perea pushes for Tower District library
Several community members attended the meeting, wearing green shirts with the slogan “the Tower District needs a library.”
They found a champion in Councilmember Annalisa Perea. She proposed spending $50,000 to explore a possible Tower District library branch. Half of the funds would come from her District 1 operating budget. The money could be used to help offset a lease, she said. She cited the county library branch at the city-owned Mosqueda Center as an example.
“This will be a heavy lift for Fresno County, as well, and so we’re hoping that they will continue to work with us and collaborate, and we know we will get this done,” Perea said.
Tower residents supported the idea of a walkable library. The main downtown Fresno library is closed for renovations.
“Being able to walk to your local library is something that would make life so much easier for so many residents,” said Derek Payton, a Tower District resident and founder of Root Access.
The library is more than just a place for books, said Tower District resident and mother Yania Escobar.
“They also provide a free and open place to gather for parents and people of all ages. They provide STEM activities and room for diverse groups to come together,” she said.
Normally, libraries are a county function, but the county has said they are willing to explore the idea with the city.
“The county is appreciative of the potential for partnership with the city to explore the possibility of a small library branch in the Tower District. Although details need to be finalized and brought to the Board, there may be an opportunity that synergizes with existing operations and priorities,” Fresno County spokesperson Sonja Dosti said.
Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias cautioned that “If we continue to expect more city resources to go to functions that are the responsibility of another agency, this body will find itself proposing a new tax to pay for everyone’s wish list.”
A Middle East expert?
Nick Richardson is requesting $65,000 to fund a part-time liaison in the mayor’s Office of Community Affairs for the Middle Eastern and North African community. The liaison’s responsibility would be to “lower the temperature, speak intelligently about some of the concerns there, and represent that part of the community.”
Dyer set up the OCA with liaisons for the Latino, Black, Indian and LGBTQ+ communities.
Richardson said the liaison could help the greater community who is “oftentimes is under-informed about the nuances of the issue, having somebody who can speak intelligently to that.” He is cognizant that one of those issues is the Israel-Palestine conflict.
“Ideally, we can find someone very intelligent, very compassionate, and very boring. And what I mean by boring is very apolitical, very amenable, and comfortable with really any demographic out of that region,” Richardson said.
Israel-Palestine wouldn’t be the only issue the new liaison could advise the mayor on, Richardson said. Other disputes Richardson mentioned include Iran and Western Sahara/Morocco.
Fresno became home for several Syrian refugees years ago.
An up-down line of questioning
City Councilmember Mike Karbassi took interest in the elevator at Chukchansi Park, home of The Fresno Grizzlies baseball team. Asking why it operates too slowly, Karbassi wanted to know how much it would cost to speed things up.
City officials responded that it could cost $1 million, too much for Karbassi’s taste.
He said slow elevator service could hurt concession stand sales, “which comes back to taxpayers;” and to use the elevator in case of a fire. There are signs by all elevators saying “in case of fire, use stairs.”
“Maintaining a facility our fans and community can be proud of is one of our top priorities. Every offseason we evaluate a range of potential improvements to Chukchansi Park, and the elevator is among the areas we will review as part of that process,” said Fresno Grizzlies spokesperson Jonathan Bravo.
Other budget notes
• During the budget hearings, several speakers requested funding be moved away from the Homeless Assistance Response Team. Dyer defended HART.
"When people say we’re not doing anything for the homeless, they’re just uninformed or unaware,” Dyer said. “If we don’t have a HART team and outreach workers, we will have unhoused people sleeping in front of that library in the Tower District.”
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• In-person translators are no longer appearing at the Fresno City Council. Non-English speakers now speak at the lectern, automatically translated using the Wordly service. The translation is displayed on the main screen in council chambers for both English and non-English speakers. Previously, the city used in-person translators and non-English speakers had twice as long to speak.
This story was originally published June 16, 2026 at 4:35 PM.
