Drastic cuts are on the way in the City of Fresno.
Mayor Ashley Swearengin revealed her plan Thursday morning to close a projected $28 million budget gap. The plan includes job cuts furloughs and cuts to some vital city services.
The Mayor said this was a very difficult day for City Hall. About a month ago, Mayor Swearengin warned the Fresno City Council that layoffs would be coming but did not know the severity of the cuts until now.
The plan presented on Thursday calls for laying off 120 full-time employees, with 104 coming from the Fresno Police Department but none of them are sworn Police Officer positions.
The city is also looking at implementing a 40-hour unpaid furlough program, closing two fire stations and four community centers and plans to look at making changes to its retirement program.
The Mayor calls the measures in the plan extremely difficult but she says the city must live within its means.
Mayor Swearengin said, “People get it… We have to change the way we do business and it’s never pleasant but I can tell you, beyond the 5 year, $87 billion hole that I see, I can also tell you that 5 years from now, we will look back and say okay – we got through it.”
Chief Dyer admits the cuts will most likely impact public safety and sworn officers may have to start responding to lower priority calls, which are typically handled by community service officers. The public may also have to wait for longer response times to lower priority calls such as vehicle theft or residential burglaries.
The Fresno City Council will start addressing the Mayor’s plan on November 30th but the public will have an opportunity to respond before any action is taken. If the plan is approved, it would go into affect on January 1st.
Click on the related link to see the Mayor's budget plan.
