And You Think Fresno Has Budget Problems....

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