City of Fresno FY 2026-27 Budget Hearing Day 1 – June 8, 2026

On Monday, June 8, 2026, the Fresno City Council began its FY 2026-27 budget hearings in Council Chambers at City Hall. Roll call was completed at 9:14 a.m.; Vice President Maxwell joined at 9:16 a.m. and Councilmember Karbassi joined at 10:50 a.m. The agenda was approved 6-0. Council heard the General Fund Overview and presentations from General Services, Information Services, Finance, and Parks, After School, Recreation, and Community Services (PARCS), and also held a special meeting on child care. The hearing recessed at 4:30 p.m. and is scheduled to resume June 9, 2026.

General Fund Overview

• Assistant Finance Director Ed Chinevere presented the Mayor’s proposed balanced General Fund budget for FY 2026-27. The total city budget is about $2.5 billion; General Fund revenues total $555.3 million, consisting of $28.8 million in prior-year carryover and $526.5 million in operating revenues. Uses are $541.8 million in operating expenditures, $13.1 million in debt-service transfers, and $0.4 million in net fund transfers.
• The budget came into the process with a $34.5 million shortfall, which the administration said was closed through attrition, efficiencies, and other measures. Attrition was budgeted at 6.18% for most departments, excluding fire and council.
• Property tax is 38.3% of General Fund revenue and sales tax is 27.5%; projected growth is 5.94% for property tax and 2.8% for sales tax. FY 2026 sales tax outperformed the amended estimate by 4.26%.
• Personnel costs are about 75% of General Fund expenditures. Public safety, including police and fire, is about 68.6% of total General Fund appropriations.
• The projected General Fund reserve is $49.6 million, or 9.2% of expenditures, below the city’s 10% reserve policy; the budget only deposits interest into the reserve.
• Council discussion covered reserve policy, Tower Theater funding and the Sequoia Brewing sale proceeds, card room revenue reductions tied to state DOJ regulations, real estate sales, and revenue forecast accuracy.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Rosalina Pena, a District 3 resident of the Three Palms area, asked for investments in her community, including park space, safer routes to Jane Addams Elementary, street lights, water pipe replacement, and action on air quality impacts from a nearby quarry. She described a resident who died during extreme heat after a swamp cooler failed.
• Ariana asked that unassigned Measure P funds be considered for acquiring or designing a park for the Villa Mobile Home Park area. She also spoke in support of more public spaces, noting heat-related deaths among housed and unhoused residents.
• During the special meeting, Fabiola Gonzalez, Executive Director of First 5 Fresno County, expressed strong support for the child care commission and partnership approach, noting First 5 receives about $6-7 million annually from Prop 10.
• Linda Gleason, Director of Fresno County Cradle to Career, supported the commission, citing child care as a top workforce barrier and noting 61% of the county workforce does not earn a living wage.
• Brooke Frost, an independent consultant, supported the commission and highlighted the need for child care during nontraditional and agricultural shift hours.

Discussion Items

General Services Department

• Director Brian Barr presented a $78 million FY27 budget, an increase of $9 million over FY26. No new positions are requested; 124 of 134 vehicle acquisitions replace vehicles that exceeded useful life. The budget includes $462,000 for the City Hall sewer lift station rehabilitation, $200,000 for EV charger engineering at the Municipal Service Center, $120,000 to replace a City Hall HVAC boiler, and $80,000 for a City Hall building assessment.
• Fresno Hop trolley passenger trips grew 7% with more than 7,500 trips; the city completed 27 charters this year and charter rates are $188/hour with a two-hour minimum.
• Council discussion covered fleet age and mileage, lease-financed vehicle purchases, new fleet accident tracking, elevator maintenance, vehicle auction procedures, EV infrastructure, janitorial service restoration, and deferred maintenance.

Information Services Department

• Director Brian Horn presented a $46 million ISD budget, close to last year’s. Personnel increases are mainly contractual; three positions are transfers into ISD, including a GIS specialist from the police department, rather than net-new positions.
• Notable projects include the PeopleSoft HRMS upgrade, with $2.6 million budgeted in FY27, $2.5 million next year, and $600,000 in the final year; a public safety radio frequency upgrade at $490,000 targeted for November; data center cooling improvements; and full cloud email migration.
• Council discussion focused on AI governance and costs, the failed Tyler HR/payroll implementation and return to PeopleSoft, old computer disposition, data center energy/water demands, and potential revenue from city fiber. Councilmember Arias requested a list of approved AI platforms, third-party AI tools, and current AI expenditures.

Finance Department

• Controller Santino Danisi presented a $19.4 million Finance Department budget, with $9.5 million from the General Fund and $9.9 million from enterprise funds. The department has 128 positions and proposes two cost-neutral position conversions.
• Revenue strategies include a reciprocal data exchange with the California Franchise Tax Board estimated to generate $236,000 annually, and a new virtual card vendor payment option estimated to generate $200,000 in rebates annually.
• Priorities include e-billing, the Pave More Now bond issuance, continuing clean financial audits, ARPA spending compliance, and the PeopleSoft HR/payroll upgrade.
• Council discussion covered the end of emergency rental assistance, low-income water/sewer credits, Airbnb/VRBO room tax collection, and the Tyler-to-PeopleSoft transition.

Parks, After School, Recreation, and Community Services Department (PARCS)

• Director Aaron Aguirre presented a $143.19 million proposed PARCS budget, including $18.3 million from the General Fund and the remainder from Measure P, state and federal grants. Positions remain unchanged at 217.
• Highlights include expanded access to arts and culture grants, a cultural arts plan update, artwork conservation, parks maintenance reorganization, senior meal program growth (over 17,000 meals served), and capital projects such as the citywide senior center, 11th and Tillery Park, Maxie Park HVAC, and Lafayette Park improvements.
• Council discussed Granite Park extensively, including the potential city takeover if the court returns operations to the city. The proposed budget includes about $847,900 in operations plus $200,000 in one-time startup costs and $77,000 for security. Parks staff estimated about five employees on weekdays and up to ten on weekends. Councilmembers Arias and Perea raised concerns about costs, Measure P eligibility, alcohol sales, parking control, and impacts on other parks; the City Manager said the city would honor existing reservations but would not allow bad actors.
• Council also discussed Riverside Golf Course and a possible covered driving range/simulator investment, with a memo promised later in the week; Woodward Park irrigation deferred maintenance estimated at $20-25 million; Shinzen Garden hours and revenue; Pinedale park site acquisition difficulties; and the possibility of Granite Park funding under Measure P.

Special Meeting: Commission on Family Affordability and Child Care Access

• Council convened a special meeting and voted 7-0 to adopt a resolution establishing a nine-member Commission on Family Affordability and Child Care Access. Council Vice President Maxwell proposed appointing Council President Esparza and Councilmember Perea to the commission, with remaining appointments to be made at subsequent meetings.
• Mayor Jerry Dyer supported the effort and described Albuquerque’s model of using city facilities for child care providers. Public speakers from First 5, Fresno County Cradle to Career, and the independent consultant community voiced support.
• Vice President Maxwell also made a motion to appropriate $3.5 million as a grant to First 5 California to generate child care within the city; the motion was seconded and will be considered with the budget motions on June 16.

Key Outcomes

• Agenda approved 6-0 for the June 8 budget hearing; special meeting agenda approved 7-0.
• Budget motions made on June 8 are scheduled for a vote on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, with enabling budget documents scheduled for adoption June 23, 2026.
• Special meeting resolution creating the Commission on Family Affordability and Child Care Access passed 7-0.
• Motions placed in the budget hopper include:
  • $3.5 million to First 5 California for child care generation in Fresno.
  • Amendment to allow carried-over Pinedale park acquisition funds to be used for “park sites west of Hwy 99.”
  • $200,000 from the Riverside Golf Course Capital Fund for First Tee youth development program facilities and programming.
  • $9,000 for Pathway To Art at Highway City Community Center, funded from District 2 operating budget.
  • $10,000 for the Sweet Program at West Fresno Family Resource Center, funding source to be determined.
  • $90,000 for the Hmong Community Garden Project with The Fresno Center.
  • $750,000 for capital improvements to the city-owned Boys & Girls Club gymnasium, including HVAC, plumbing, roofing, and security.
  • $1.6 million for construction of a splash pad at Manchester Park.
  • $650,000 for construction of a skate park amenity at Manchester Park.
• Councilmembers also filed numerous requests for information, including AI platform inventories and costs, fleet inventory by age/mileage, Tower Theater maintenance costs, trolley charter fees, electric charger usage, park shade structure costs, community garden costs, traffic studies, sidewalk and street repair costs, Granite Park appraisal, and Radio Park property acquisition funding gap.