Fresno residents have big dreams for their city, but the budget only goes so far
It’s pretty hard to have a meaningful discussion about Fresno without talking about divisions.
Typically those divisions revolve around wealth, race, politics — or all rolled into one, depending on whether someone lives north or south of a certain street. Fresno’s geographical divide has shaped the community conversation since at least 2000, when former Mayor Alan Autry made the “Tale of Two Cities” one of his platform pillars.
While listening to the Fresno City Council budget hearings, in particular the lengthy public comment portions, what struck me was how those old divisions were being expressed in a new way.
Fresno’s north-south divide remains a fissure and probably always will be. But in 2020, the year of coronavirus, widespread protests over racism and who-can-only-guess between now and Nov. 3, the schism I heard being manifested, over and over for hours and hours, was more about philosophy.
On one side of the divide lies the city we currently have. On the other is the city many vocal residents want it to become. What’s more, these folks want to see change at a speed that far exceeds the limit of any lumbering bureaucracy. No matter how progressive the City Council.
How this plays out during the formulation of a 2020-21 budget will be equally fascinating and instructive.
Extensive needs
As you’re probably aware, police reform was the hot topic, with more than 100 people chiming in on Zoom — some more than once. Aside from a few racist pranksters, each one of them called for the city to reduce police spending and redirect that money to other services. Thousands more chimed in via email, according to Council President Miguel Arias.
Their demands ranged from trimming the general fund portion of the Fresno Police Department budget by 4%, as called for by the Fresno State NAACP, to stripping away duties and responsibilities that don’t involve actual crime.
Many wanted to know why police respond to every 911 call, even when they don’t involve crime. Shouldn’t trained social workers respond to situations involving the homeless or mentally ill? Why are cops riding FAX buses and patrolling schools? Why is graffiti abatement a police matter?
“We are asking the police to basically take their resources and do jobs that they have not been trained for,” said Venise Curry of Communities for a New Education Fund. “We’re asking people who aren’t trained to be surgeons to go in and do a surgical incision. Completely ridiculous.”
Fresno PD receives about 1,200 calls per day for emergency service and between 1,500 to 1,700 for nonemergencies, according to Chief Andy Hall. Those non-emergency calls have to be answered by someone. If not police, then whom?
The Fresno Fire Department was brought up as a potential solution — except that would place an additional burden on a department that is already woefully underfunded and understaffed.
Some want police removed from the Homeless Task Force. OK, sounds good. But then who would patrol Fresno’s canal banks and freeways to ensure temporary camps don’t become permanent blights?
Even for the minority of homeless who accept help, we don’t have enough beds, shelters or housing to place them. That takes money, too.
And parks. Can’t forget about parks. Fresno needs more of them (duh), and most of the parks we have are poorly maintained. Why isn’t there anything as nice as Oso de Oro Park south of Shaw? Relatedly, bike lanes and sidewalks, particularly around schools. We need more of those, too.
To just about everyone who spoke up, the money to cure Fresno’s woes can be found by stripping away a bloated police department budget. Which sounds good but also ignores certain realities: This city has a lot of crime. It needs good policing.
Pie slicing
Like a budget, a pie can be split in many ways. However, the size of each slice ultimately depends on the size of the pie.
Fresno may be California’s fifth-largest city by population behind Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose and San Francisco. By wealth, we’re a lot further down the list.
How far? In 2018, the last year reported by the State Controller’s Office, Fresno’s total revenues were $846 million. That figure ranked 11th among California cities, trailing not just the four mentioned above but also Long Beach, Oakland, Anaheim, Sacramento, Santa Clara and Riverside.
Go back an entire decade, and you’ll find Fresno never ranked higher than ninth among California cities in total revenues or lower than 12th.
What does that tell us? Fresno, with relatively low revenues for a city of 538,000, has less to spend per capita on public safety, parks, mass transit and amenities that make cities livable. Our pie isn’t nearly as large as our needs. We’re forced to make do with less.
Which probably isn’t what change agents inspired by George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis and other instances of police brutality want to hear. But it’s also the truth.
Most council members appeared sympathetic to what they heard. A few of them made motions that would reduce police responsibilities, and funding, that will be voted on next week.
Still, I suspect many who expressed their views will be ultimately disappointed. The transition from the Fresno we currently have to the Fresno they want will take far more than one budget cycle.
This story was originally published June 20, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
