I felt pretty good a little over a year ago when I left the Fresno City Council due to term limits. The previous eight years had had its ups and downs, but all-in-all the city was being turned over to a new mayor and council with many improvements and with a budget in the black, to include a 17 million dollar reserve. Little did I know then that the mayor and council today would be struggling with a recently announced $27 million dollar deficit after already tightening its belt to the point where some layoffs were necessary.
I fully understand the difficult choices facing city staff as well as city officials. Downsizing is never pleasant. I can assure you, dear reader, that officials have their appointment books filled with petitioners--from union representatives to contractors to constituents--pleading for their special interests.
The city will get past the budget challenges of this year. Put into perspective, Fresno's hole isn't as deep as some of our sister cities. While recently in Sacramento, for example, I read about the tale of woe facing their city government: a deficit of $58 million dollars. Here is a city with a slightly smaller population than Fresno that has to work through a deficit twice as large.
Let's look at a few more. San Francisco (operates as both city and county) has a looming deficit of $522 million, San Jose (almost twice the size of Fresno) has a $116 million deficit. And the grand daddy of them all, Los Angeles, is looking into a gargantuan deficit hole of $640 million dollars.
So, what will Fresno do? As always, it will do the traditionally tried and true: cut programs and personnel for a short-term fix and pray for the economic recovery (which is slowly taking place). Unfortunately, city officials have not and will not use the financial storm to seek long-term systemic change in the fabric of local government.
They will not suggest to the Board of Supervisors that they jointly appoint a respected citizen commission to review and make recommendations for consolidation and/or reorganization of city and county operations. If the City were to do that and if the supervisors balk, as they always do, the City will not establish the commission on their own. They will gnash their teeth and complain to whomever will listen about impending reduced city services, but they will not in a public meeting discuss the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the 19th Century local government mechanism that is supposed to serve citizens in the 21st Century.
The mayor and council could, if they really wanted to be transformational leaders for the history books, make a fundamental difference in local governance instead of simply making budget cuts. Based on my experience as both a member of that body and as an observer, however, I would not suggest, dear reader, that you hold your breath.
Coming Soon...
1. College students, program reviews and jobs.
2. Fresno's FAX bus system is facing financial challenges.
3. A sad farewell to railroad consolidation.
4. Full-time elected officials?
Comments are welcome. Click on "Comments" below or e-mail abriancalhoun@gmail.com
I would like to commend Fresno Unified Superintendent Hansen and his board of education for their willingness to increase the number of district-run magnet schools and for proposing the start of a "modified charter" school. These efforts to promote school "choice" for parents and students always entail a certain amount of risk, but they also provide alternative models of education that have great potential of success.
Magnet schools have been around for some time and are seldom controversial. They are schools staffed by Fresno Unified administrators and teachers that have a special "theme." Unlike typical "neighborhood schools," magnet schools are open on a lottery basis (student enrollment must always reflect the racial make-up of the community) to students from across the district. Staffing is very selective. Administrators and teachers must apply to work at these schools, and they are carefully screened to select the very best. While each magnet school has an academic "theme," each must still meet all the California standards required of all schools.
In the early 1980's in Wisconsin, my son and daughter attended The Fine Arts School, one of the first magnet schools in the nation. The school was located in a former school that had been closed because it was in a very poor part of the city. It was spruced up and reopened to a waiting list of students. (Prior to a lottery being established, my experience with each of my children was to set-up my chaise lounge the night before so I could be early enough in the registration process to secure an available opening.)
In addition to the magnet schools, Superintendent Hansen is also proposing to open a modified "charter" school. This is considerably more controversial because while the school would be overseen by the Fresno Unified School Board, it would not have to be staffed with Fresno Unified administrators or teachers. It could, in essence, be "contracted out" to an education management organization that would be responsible for all staffing and day-to-day operations. This proposal is not, obviously, supported by the local teacher union.
I would encourage all parties, to include the teachers, to give the proposed charter school a fair trial. My guess is that most of the teachers would be hired from the ranks of Fresno Unified. It makes sense to hire them since the school district has a large pool of excellent teachers that would love to teach in a different setting and under a somewhat different operation. After all, the teaching-learning process should not be static, but instead, one that constantly is evolving to be better.
Not every parent and child wants to be in a "non-traditional" school, but for some, "school choice" provides a pathway out of a traditional school that is not the best learning environment. Years ago, my wife, son and daughter were willing to try something different with The Fine Arts School. It turned out to be an excellent decision. There is no reason why Fresno Unified shouldn't be providing parents and children in the 21st Century with choice in public education.
Coming Soon...
1. And you think Fresno has budget challenges...try the City of Sacramento!
2. College students, program reviews and jobs.
3. Fresno's FAX bus system is facing financial challenges.
4. A sad farewell to railroad consolidation.
Comments are welcome. Click on "Comments" below or e-mail abriancalhoun@gmail.com
I believe the recent discussion about the appropriateness of invocations at Fresno City Council meetings is timely and worth having. While I am not a constitutional scholar, there are legitimate issues that are raised when an elected body that sets public policy involving raising and spending tax dollars begins a public meeting by invoking religion, particularly if it is primarily Christianity.
First of all, let's be clear about invocations. There is no requirement for beginning a public meeting with a religious invocation. The practice varies from locality to locality and by state to state. Locally, it is my understanding that the Fresno County Board of Supervisors and the Clovis City Council, for example, refrain from the practice of invocations. On the other hand, many localities do.
What makes the invocation dicey on a constitutional level is when the invocation is always tied to one primary religion, in this case Christianity. This narrow approach of favoring one religion over others could and probably would be considered a constitutional violation of the principle of separation of church and state. An invocation practice, on the other hand, that broadens the participation to all religious groups and/or practices would probably, but not assuredly, meet constitutional muster.
The practice of the Fresno City Council is to rotate among council members the responsibility for inviting individuals to give the invocation as the first action of the weekly council meetings. When it was "my turn" during the eight years I served as a council member, I tried to select representatives of non-Christian religions and sects, secular not-for-profit leaders, readings from spiritual and non-spiritual books, and even musical performances from area artists. To be perfectly honest, I was troubled by the council's practice of primarily selecting Christian denominations to give the invocation.
Rather than criticize those who might question the current invocation practice, I would encourage Mayor Swearengin and the council to take this opportunity to redefine what an invocation should be. The essential question should be is how the elected representatives of Fresno can best WELCOME everyone--regardless of race, creed, religion, age or sex--to participate in the governance process of meeting the essential needs of a great city. And if it is deemed necessary and appropriate to call on a higher presence, let those representatives of a higher presence include all the world's religions.
Coming Soon...
1. And you think Fresno has budget challenges...try the City of Sacramento!
2. College students, program reviews and jobs.
3. "Choice" for parents and students in our local schools.
Comments are welcome. Click on "Comments" below or e-mail abriancalhoun@gmail.com
I would much rather comment on the FresYes instead of the FresNo side of our community. And anyone that comments that our community does not have culture has certainly not been to the Fresno Philharmonic. What a gem!
The Saroyan Theatre has welcomed the Philharmonic on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons for many, many years. The conductor, Theodore Kuchar, orchestra, and Philharmonic staff put on a wonderful show for classical music aficionados. And to broaden their appeal, just about every performance has world-renown guest artists. The most recent guest artist not only performed his required virtuoso piece, but chose to join the orchestra for the following major work as well as an additional short violin solo, The Red Violin. The quality of the Philharmonic's performances has climbed to the point where it is not at all uncommon to have standing ovations.
The Philharmonic "smart guys and gals" are only too aware of the limited potential audience for classical music. They have, therefore, used their creative minds to appeal to a broader audience. Next season's line-up, for instance, includes the Family Concert: Classical Kids Live! Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery; Pops: Bravo! Holidays; Pops: The 3 Phantoms & the Philharmonic; and Pops: Circque de la Symphonie-Encore! Clever program development and marketing introduces a new and younger generation to the symphony. At a time when many illustrious national symphonies are in dire financial straits or folding, Fresno's Philharmonic continues to please its audiences.
So, if you hear the "no culture" comment about Fresno, take the misinformed miscreant to the Philharmonic. They will never say that again.
Coming Soon...
1. Invocations at Fresno City Council meetings?
2. College students, program reviews and jobs.
3. "Choice" for parents and students in our local schools.
Comments are welcome. Click on "Comments" below or e-mail abriancalhoun@gmail.com
The event was front page news in the Fresno Bee and the local news stations: "Big auction for Met memorabilia." Get it while its hot! Wonderful deals! Outstanding turnout!
I guess the auction was inevitable after the Met went belly-up after years of overbuilding and mismanagement. Nevertheless, it made me furious to think of how Met management lied to the City of Fresno in order to get its multi-million dollar loan guarantee to just "tide it over" until construction was finished and the museum would again open to sufficient paying customers to keep it solvent. What a con! And as a member of the City Council at that time, I fell for it.
Lost in all the hoopla of the auction was the fact that millions of City of Fresno tax dollars paid for a foolish Taj Majal that Fresno could not afford. Other important projects that Fresno was ready to provide citizens, particularly more parks, had to be scrapped because of the debacle. The irresponsible Met board of directors and staff should also be apologizing to the 140 city police department employees that were recently let go due to city budget constraints. And their apology will be needed again this spring when Mayor Swearengin's budget axes more employees.
I wish that I could turn back the clock to that unanimous vote by the council in 2006. It was difficult to vote against guaranteeing the loan with the council chamber full of Met supporters and the Fresno Bee editorializing about the need for "city leaders to support a downtown cultural icon" (which, incidentally, was originally given or sold to the Met by the Fresno Bee when it found the old building inadequate). The decision by the council was a poor one, based more on local feelings of sentiment and loyalty rather than hard-headed reality.
For those of you "lucky" ones that got a good deal at the Met auction, please be sure to thank the citizens of Fresno that are subsidizing your purchase. They are certainly not smiling.
Coming Soon...
1. The Fresno Philharmonic: We should be so fortunate.
2. College students, program reviews and jobs.
3. "Choice" for parents and students in our local schools.
Comments are welcome. Click on "Comments" below or e-mail abriancalhoun@gmail.com
From the liberal New Republic to the conservative Wall Street Journal, I love reading. I have been a life-long subscriber to Newsweek, and have always--wherever I was living--looked forward to reading the local newspaper. As a moderate (fiscally conservative with moderate to liberal social issue views and an independent voting record), I find reading both enjoyable and educational. I am, therefore, troubled by my growing aversion to the locally published Community Alliance newspaper.
I have tried to cut the Community Alliance (which identifies itself as "The Voice of the Progressive Movement Since 1996") some slack. After all, the far-left position of this newspaper would find a more receptive audience in Santa Cruz; San Francisco; Boulder, CO; Madison, WI or similar bastions of liberal thought. Fresno is--no doubt about it--quite conservative. So I thought as I first started reading the Alliance some years back that it was healthy in a democracy to have a publication that takes a different approach to things happening in the community than, say, the main-line Fresno Bee.
Unfortunately, the Community Alliance is always against something. It is a newspaper with an axe to grind about just about everything. Rather than be for something, it chooses to criticize the community, particularly Fresno's elected officials. The most recent monthly publication, for example, tries to make the case that Fresno is on the verge of --horror of horrors--building a nuclear power plant. A meandering editorial worries about some chatter about a change in Fresno's name, criticizes Fresno's assault on the homeless, and expresses concern that the newly hired Independent Police Auditor is not cracking down on perceived widespread police brutality. Someone from out of town picking up the newspaper would conclude that Fresno must be the most God-awful place on the planet.
The Fresno City Council is a constant target of this newspaper. During the eight years I served as a council member, the only time I can remember the newspaper giving even grudging credit to the council was for its efforts to establish a community access channel for various public groups to use.
While Fresno still has the 'no' in its name and is not by any means a perfect community, I take strong issue with the Alliance's constant criticism, particularly of those city officials involved in the difficult task of providing decent housing for the homeless and the police-bashing. Few people take the newspaper seriously. It's sad. The Community Alliance could, with a less strident focus, be a force of constructive change.
Coming Soon...
1. The Fresno Philharmonic: We should be so fortunate.
2. College students, program reviews and jobs.
3. "Choice" for parents and students in our local schools.
4. "Auction" at Met. Taxpayers forgotten.
Comments are welcome. Click on "Comments" below or e-mail abriancalhoun@gmail.com
In the mid-1990's, visionary Fresno leaders, primarily from the private sector, established a citizen commission to consider changes to the City of Fresno charter that sets forth the structure and procedure of city governance. Their outstanding work led to City of Fresno voters overwhelmingly approving what has come to be called the "strong mayor" form of government. This significant change separated the mayor from the council and created a different set of responsibilities for each. The mayor was given increased responsibilities as the "chief executive" for the city, and the council gained two additional seats to make a council of seven members.
The charter change was an excellent one. Fresno leapfrogged most other municipalities in the country in implementing a governance system that has served it well for the past 20 years. Now a slight majority of council members proposes to change an important aspect of the charter by not implementing the provision for adding two additional council seats when the city population exceeds a half million. While not turning back the clock to the discredited "weak mayor" form of governance that existed prior to the mid-1990's, the proposal lacks merit and should not be approved either by the council in its second reading or by the voters since an affirmative council vote requires voter approval by City of Fresno citizens.
The position taken by council proponents for not adding the additional council member seats is that it is too expensive. This is simply not true. Each council member is paid $60,000 a year with the additional cost of two council assistants. Routine office expenses are on top of personnel costs. The expense associated with adding the two positions is less than one half of one percent of the city budget.
Cost (while small) should not be the overriding criteria in determining whether the council should be limited to the current seven members or expanded to the charter-mandated nine in the near future. Of far more importance is the work that the council does now and will be expected to do as the city population increases. Addressing the day-to-day needs of almost 80,000 constituents per council member, along with the policy decisions that must be addressed every week in public council meetings, is arduous and time-consuming. The responsibility should be spread over an additional two council members as the city population continues to increase well into the 21st century.
The charter provision for expanding the council upon the city reaching a population milestone was carefully considered and overwhelmingly approved by city voters in the mid-1990's. It was revisited again in 2006 when I was on the council. A slight majority of the council at that time voted to change the charter by placing the same prohibition against adding two additional council members when the population reached a certain point. Since it was a charter amendment and required voter approval, it went before the voters in the general election where it was voted down.
While I have always supported the strong mayor form of government, I am also having a difficult time trying to understand why some council members want to shoot themselves in the foot by restricting its number (and influence) in the democratic checks and balances process that takes place between itself and the mayor. Do they really want to have a strong, strong mayor form of government? And do they want to tell their constituents that the every-increasing size of the district means that they will have difficulty meeting their needs? Or is there the unstated motive of some council members that adding two more members might lessen their time in the spotlight?
I have always marveled at the extraordinary work of those citizens 20 years ago that held all those public meetings leading to a popular vote for significant improvements to the City of Fresno Charter under which the city operates today. And to drive home the value of those changes, the citizens just four years ago AGAIN reaffirmed the value of the charter.
Should the council approve the proposal in the second reading, the mayor would be wise to veto it, thereby requiring a super-majority to approve it. Something as important as a charter amendment should require a super-majority anyway.
There's a well-used phrase that applies to this current attempt at tinkering with the charter: "If it ain't broke, don't mess with it."
Coming Soon...
1. The Fresno Philharmonic: We should be so fortunate.
2. College students, program reviews and jobs.
3. "Choice" for parents and students in our local schools.
Comments are welcome. Click on "Comments" below or e-mail abriancalhoun@gmail.com
