New police helicopter and fire staff downsizing in record-breaking $2 billion budget
Although Mayor Jerry Dyer’s proposed budget is a record-breaking $2 billion, much of his presentation Thursday to the Fresno City Council focused on cost-cutting and addressing a $47 million deficit he announced last week.
Dyer’s proposed budget seeks to replace a 20-year-old police helicopter by selling it. Those proceeds, along with revenue from the sale of a city-owned house, will cover the costs of a down payment and lease for a new helicopter. The lease will cost the city $300,000 in the 2025 fiscal year.
Dyer’s biggest cost-cutting strategy relies on projected savings from attrition — leaving unfilled city positions vacant. However, he made special note that city employees will not face staff reductions in 2025.
“No layoffs, no furloughs, no hiring freezes,” Dyer told the Fresno City Council on Thursday.
Additionally, his proposal does not include funding for the Eviction Protection Program, which is run by the City Attorney’s Office.
The largest line item driving the city budget deficit for the 2025 fiscal year were salary increases and personnel costs, some of which were required by contracts with unions representing the city’s employees. Back in March, Dyer said part of his strategy to cut costs would include negotiating with union leaders for the police and fire departments.
At the same time, Dyer’s proposed budget is seeking councilmembers to approve a $288 million police budget — $26 million more than what the council approved last year. The police’s amended budget ended up being $285 million in 2024.
The largest cost-saving measure Dyer spoke directly to were $21.4 million in savings from unfilled positions across the city, including in the police and fire departments.
The forthcoming budget process
Dyer’s proposed budget presentation kicks off a public budget process that will last at least a month. Up next are budget hearings in June, when councilmembers will issue motions depending on their budget priorities. That is followed by a committee of councilmembers negotiating the budget with the city’s administration.
For the past five years, those negotiations have taken place behind closed doors. Last August, a Fresnoland investigation questioned whether that practice may have violated California’s Brown Act.
Three months later, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and First Amendment Coalition sued the City of Fresno, alleging its budget committee violated state law for annual budget negotiations convened in private meetings.
While the city maintained the practice was legal, the city council still disbanded its budget committee, along with 10 other committees that met privately. Back in February, they also approved a new way for three councilmembers to meet privately via “informal working groups” free of any record-keeping.
Could Eviction Protection Program die off?
Leading up to releasing his budget proposal every year, Dyer typically meets with individual councilmembers to gauge their priorities and minimize funding motions they end up making by June.
However, Councilmember Nelson Esparza said on the dais that this year was different. He said Dyer’s proposed budget didn’t include priorities he had for his council district, and councilmembers are prepared to make budget motions moving forward.
“Usually when we have our preliminary lead up talks with respect to budget, you’re asking, ‘What can I include? What are your priorities? How can we minimize motions?’” Esparza said to Dyer. “This year, you didn’t ask me. I assume you didn’t ask anybody (other councilmembers). It was all a conversation about cuts.”
Dyer said the forthcoming budget hearings, when councilmembers make budget motions, will be the opportunity for them to advocate for funding priorities. One example: Fresno’s eviction protection program, which was not included in Dyer’s preliminary budget proposal.
“I was disappointed to see the City’s successful Eviction Protection Program left out of the Mayor’s proposed budget,” said Councilmember Tyler Maxwell in a statement to Fresnoland. “This program has helped countless Fresno families from being separated and off the streets.”
The program, which covers legal help for Fresno renters getting evicted, has been around since Esparza and Maxwell proposed it in 2021.
Last year, Dyer did not build in funding for the eviction protection program either, but Maxwell successfully advocated for it during budget negotiations. He said he hopes other councilmembers will join him in advocating for the program and failing to keep it alive will only incur a greater cost for the city in the long run.
“We know, from an economic standpoint, it’s more efficient to keep families off the streets than it is to lift them out of homelessness,” Maxwell said, adding that he would like to see other councilmembers join him in advocating for the program’s funding.
Concern over fire staffing in Fresno budget
The conversation on the dais Thursday was largely focused on the city’s fire department. Fire Chief Billy Alcorn said he identified three fire stations that will not be fully staffed, to aid in cost-cutting — amounting to $2.5 million in savings.
Councilmembers Garry Bredefeld and Mike Karbassi, whose districts include the downsized stations, said they were concerned. Karbassi said he plans to advocate for full staffing at the station in his district.
Responding to questions from Councilmember Miguel Arias, Alcorn confirmed the stations that were chosen had lower call volumes.
Arias also questioned why the city is building a new fire station while downsizing staff. He also said he wanted a deeper explanation of those plans and the need for a new fire station, which Dyer is also proposing.
“Now I know one of the answers is, without a new fire station, we can’t allow occupancy permits for these subdivisions in the fringe of the city,” Arias said. “If we’re indicating that we cannot afford to grow in the fringe of the city, then why are we adding more fire stations in the fringe of the city?”