Mayor Lee Brand, along with City Manager Wilma Quan, today announced the proposed City of Fresno budget for Fiscal Year 2020 during a press conference at City Hall. The $1.187 billion budget, which includes $346 million for the General Fund, puts an emphasis on continuing the City’s long-term financial stability, with a focus on economic development and job creation, improving public safety and creating a more business friendly climate while looking for innovative and new revenue streams to fund the City’s core services.
“This budget represents our continued strategy to use a sensible and balanced approach … to make our City a better and safer place to live, work, raise our children and enjoy life,” said Mayor Brand. “That’s why we are focused every day on creating an economy that works for everyone to transform our narrative from poverty to prosperity with the goal of improving the quality of life for everyone in Fresno.”
The proposed FY 2020 budget represents a balanced approach to rebuilding the financial health of the City and maintaining core municipal services. Among the highlights, the FY 2020 budget:
- Replaces 71 police vehicles, continuing the process of replacing the City’s aging fleet, and upgrading equipment.
- Funds the construction of the urgently needed Fire Station 18 and a new nine-person company in the Metro area, which increases minimum daily staffing to 80.
- Increases the PARCS budget by 4.6% to build a new BMX park, tot lots at Tupman, Dickey and JSK Parks and a new Challenger Course at Romain Park.
- Builds newrestroom facilities and field lights at Hinton Park; and completion of Maxie L. Parks Urban Forest.
- Also includes funding to funding to pave 74 lane miles of road and complete the conversion of 38,000 street lights to energy-saving LED fixtures, which will save Fresno taxpayers an estimated $1.6 million a year.
- Completes $3.1 million in tree-damaged concrete repairs to our sidewalks; $1.1 million for the Olive Avenue Tower District project to address deferred pavement maintenance and provide a more pedestrian-friendly district.
- Funds over $3.6 million for projects west of State Route 99, including funding to start construction of the Midtown Trail and matching funds for our Transformative Climate Communities program.
- Projects the projected General Fund Reserve to be $34 million by the end of the current fiscal year which is the highest reserve in our City’s history and achieves the goal of having a reserve equal to about 10% of our General Fund budget.
City Manager Quan added, “These investments clearly show our continued commitment to the Mayor’s key initiatives of economic prosperity, quality of life, and public safety – while maintaining the fiscal prudence that has earned Fresno the reputation of being one of the best-run cities in America.”
Mayor Brand will present the proposed budget to Fresno City Council at its meeting on Monday, June 3, 2019. The City of Fresno’s budget must be adopted by June 30, per the city charter.
The full FY2020 Budget Proposal can be viewed online at www.fresno.gov/budget.