Mayor Lee Brand, along with City Manager Wilma Quan-Schecter, today announced the proposed City of Fresno budget for Fiscal Year 2019 during a press conference at City Hall. The $1.115 billion budget, which includes $341 million for the General Fund, puts an emphasis on continuing the City’s long-term financial stability, as well as economic development and infrastructure, while providing a road map to make Fresno a better, safer and more prosperous place to live, work and play.
“We’ve taken great strides in the past 12 months and we’ve been able to accomplish great things through the best possible use of our limited resources to address our most pressing issues,” said Mayor Brand. “My vision for Fresno is to transform our economy by creating citywide prosperity that will improve the quality of life for everyone in Fresno.”
The proposed FY 2019 budget represents a balanced approach to rebuilding the financial health of the City and maintaining core municipal services. Among the highlights, the FY 2019 budget:
- Replacing 120 police vehicles, continuing the process of replacing the City’s aging fleet.
- Funds a 7-Week Drill School for the Fire Department, which will ultimately help with staffing levels as well as the continuance of meeting SAFER compliance.
- Funds land acquisition for the future relocation of Fire Station 10.
- Adds concrete crews in the Public Works Department to help address the City’s aging infrastructure.
- Also includes funding to repave 85 lane miles, the conversion of 38,000 street lights to energy-saving LED fixtures, and 14 new traffic signals and 6 traffic signal upgrades.
- Provides funding for a Litter Control Crew to address the increased requests for services relating to litter control and illegal dumping received via the City of Fresno’s FresGO app.
- Added funding for Business Friendly Fresno 2.0! to improve application processing, plan check turnaround, and front counter support so we can reach our customer service goals.
- Projects the projected General Fund Reserve to be $23.94 million by the end of our current fiscal year and $27.54 million by the end of FY 2019.
City Manager Quan-Schecter added, “This budget reflects the commitment of our team, as well as the innovative ideas that have produced a strong, vibrant, and exciting future for Fresno.”
Mayor Brand will present the proposed budget to Fresno City Council at its meeting on Thursday, May 24, 2018. The City of Fresno’s budget must be adopted by June 30, per the city charter.
The full FY2019 Budget Proposal can be viewed online at www.fresno.gov/budget.