Thread by @AndyHS

City of Fresno Budget hearings (in progress).

Lupe ... with presentation. Job numbers are a moving target. Unemployment is lower than state (!). We haven’t replaced all the jobs prepandemic yet jobs are open still. Facade replacement in Districts 1 and 5. Ranked 5th of Mid sized cities of small business. This is a new de-

apartment so results are hard to compare. Branding. Made in Fresno. Get the name on people’s lips. Workforce development. Bitwise, @BitwiseInd Duncan Polytechnical; Young-preneurs pilot program with Patino School and Fresno State. Help graduates launch a business.

Arias: awe have a PBID and Downtown Partnership already. Why do we need to do this? Esqueda:spark people’s imagination with projects like in Chinatown. Arias: would it be better to have Master Developer? A: yes and perhaps when HSR begins it makes sense to compile levels. Arias:

this is a small step towards that. Chavez: this may help someone of they no longer want to be in PBID. Lupe: PBID is more focused on events, filling store fronts. This particular may help them go another step. Arias: most of the people know how to develop. They just don’t.

@plannerdanzack PBID expires in 2023 and beginning to work on renewing for another 10 years. Arias: General Fund provides $400,000 for Fulton Street among with PBID. A: it is in Public Works and was initially $700,000. @kmkarbassi glad to hear administration formed this depart-

ment. Lupe: lots of hand holding to help businesses survive during pandemic. Karbassi: handholding will make this department do well by going out to businesses in person. A database of our businesses would help. Lupe: one of our staff members is doing that. Esqueda: sales tax and

business license are two great ways for that data. Karbassi: how can we help African American families or people not with tech skills? Esqueda: want to be a place where Female owned or small businesses can start and survive.Karbassi: access on ground retail place for this depart-

-ment? Esqueda: there has been some discussion. Some city owned properties on Kings Canyon and Manchester. Karbassi makes Motion to come back with potential locations. Please reach out to Unified Schools to encourage youth going into businesses. Lupe: Fresno State students are

often from Fresno , Hispanic and want to stay after graduation which is great. Karbassi: filling empty big box stores needs a proactive response. Lupe: old IRS building is 60 acres. Karbassi: need to always be changing tactics. Chavez: City needs to fill out corridors. Motion of

$150,000 to target travel conventions (?). Soria: motion to add $1.5 million. Lupe: facade improvement only has $100,000 set aside in that pilot program. Esqueda: need to know if we put x-amount in how much do we get out. Economic 101. Lupe: Fresno Business Watch : reduce costly

process of calling police over and over. This will help businesses with repairs of vandalism and not give a hit to their insurance.we need to educate and inspire people to launch a businesses. Digital and Print advertising to get to hard to reach. Help them get Business Tax Cer-

—tic are which will allow them to apply for other grants. @Maxwell4Fresno I appreciate the work you put into this. Economic Development tends to target Blackstone or Kings Canyon but we neglect the area near airport especially as new expansion at Airport.@D7Esparza glad to see a

our size to take this needed step to a new department. You have provided a means to an end. But what is our destination? A 10,000 ft view to grow our city. @MayorJerryDyer we need to first retain the businesses we already have. They tend to see government as a bureaucracy and no

red carpet. We want to keep them here before they leave. Our state is highly taxed and regulated. We want to be the location for businesses in San Jose looking for another location. Target those outside of state too. We are already a distribution center but an ecosystem so other

local businesses know who else is in the city. We want those around country to know we mean business. Esparza: thanks. I thought at first you were just going to give me Republican talking points only! Dyer: opportunities in tech world we haven’t taken advantage of. @BitwiseInd

has shown what can be. Construction , nursing etc are going to remain important in future. We may be an inland port with our rail system. Electrical vehicles will leave a not as environmental impact as in the past. Esparza: we need an anchor businesses or a way to export items

out. That will bring money in and then jobs and homes. Distribution Centers won’t shoot us towards the stars. We don’t have economic generators like silicon or a Wall Street but we need middle range. Dyer: we have an ideal place for training workers. We need to continue to market

Fresno so they know about it. The more diversified we are the better. Esparza: if we are successful we can have high paying distribution jobs or inland port jobs. That then drives restaurants etc. Lupe: Perez: we are working with engineering students. We had hope those students

to give business owners to see how facade could look like. Also UCSF resident doctors. They graduate 300 a year. They do research too so we could target businesses that do that. Esqueda: pharmaceutical companies chase places with medical students , water, Level 1 Trauma etc makes

it an interesting place. Medical devices ? Talent, talent , talent wins the day. We will have to deal with California regulations. Duncan Polytechnical is building a pharmaceutical training program there. It is coming together. Esparza: agrees. Making our city a destination city

is good. I would like to hear from our Downtown Czar @plannerdanzack. I want to get cranes in the air to get housing downtown. Need 24 hour population and not a work population that empties at night. We need 30,000 apartment units. Trying to locate who owns what property and see

how we can help. Some are good development but hard to find financing. Or have a good idea but don’t know which parcel is best. I am working with established developers who may-have only done suburban work but are interested. Letting out of town developers know this is next cool

spot. Toward that 3500 apartment units we need we will have to ramp things up. Occupancy rate in Downtown is only 1%. Not enough product. Rent per square foot is only a Penny difference than at River Park. Dan had a friend boomerang back from NYC but had easier finding an apart-

ment there then in Fresno. Rent is $2 a sq. foot. Esparza: any type of this elbow grease being put into Blackstone as well. Lupe Perez: yes. Once our new positions are filled then yes. Blackstone is large and lots of property to deal with. Esparza: Ongoing puzzle pieces. Perez:

same with Shaw Ave. Esparza: I want the @plannerdanzack of Blackstone. Maxwell: same for airport version of Dan Zack! @kmkarbassi 3 motions. If we take from your $500,000 will it prevent you from doing ? $190,000 for two positions. Risk analyst as well. They are taking a pause

for lunch until 1:30.

Council is starting up again. 1:45! Continuing with Economic Development Department. Staff mentions she is doing red carpet outreach to businesses. Arias: I am more pessimistic.

Chavez halts the meeting as they having some sounds issues although ro am hearing them done on @CMACTV

They are back now. Continue with Arias:How many positions? Karbassi: two positions and funding. Lupe Perez: retail on KIngs Canyon; Laura as well.Next do industrial along with EDC and Lupe.DiAnne works downtown. We have carryover. EDC works on business attraction

Beyond our city limits. They do it for County as well. Arias: Everyone expects me and my staff to be the Jeff Roberts of downtown business. Time consuming for small businesses. I feel we focus on big businesses but leave small on their own. Dan needs to take a focus and red

Carpet for small businesses to help them navigate the bureaucracy of Downtown. Big developers can afford their own staff.Small businesses can’t wait 6 months for s simple form to be approved. Soria: I don’t think that is just a downtown problem. Tower Businesses trying to re-open

Need help. Dyer: want one per district? Arias: If we just know who to send them too. Karbassi: Lupe had spoken about helping small businesses all morning! Dyer: I like each district having their own liaison Arias: small businesses need an advocate Downtown other than just their

Councilmembers. Perez: Need to be strategic. Esqueda: Metric on small businesses like Women led or Minority led. PPE program left some small businesses out as they didn’t have the skill to apply. Councilmembers need a liason they can send them to. Dyer: how many before in this

Department before I came Mayor?Perez: just two. Now 8. Esparza: Need someone to supplement the two czars on Blackstone and Downtown.Blackstone has the greatest potential than rest of city. Chavez:Is 8 enough for councilmembers to have a Navigator? Perez: I think so. Executive

Assistant position can do that. This position needs to be filled still as that person just retired. Laura Rios: Blackstone Project PBID is coming to Council next week. Another Housing project is in early stages, Manchester with COG grant and Keith Berghold. We went door to door

Some businesses people didn’t speak English or read. Public Comments:@kieltls Excited to see the investment in this. It helps decrease crime. Access to capital with loan assistance. A modest loan loss for small businesses would be helpful for minorities. $500,000 that would only

Be tapped if there is loan loss. @LisaYFlores1 Glorious day at dog part at Roeding. Need staff assigned that may need a class taught on who they should go to. End this segment.

Esqueda: Assets to resume to be consistent with Beautify Fresno, Youth, etc. Cost $7.7 M to resume it. $1.6 M is limited revenue. Community Revitalization positions. Continue beautification projects as well as with Art Councils and Park Commissions especially murals. HART to re-

-move homeless from vacant properties. Proactive enforcement of worst of the landlords. Vacant buildings need to be protected to prevent fires and vandalism. Would like $2 Million for PERS, non-Pers, ID Charges for Beautify Fresno and Housing/Homeless Division.Chavez: Code in

Attorney’s office is doing a great job. Why change it? Esqueda:We would have this dispatched out of one location. Allows more flexibility. Arias:Beautify Fresno has been a success for those who drive the freeway but not for the people who LIVE near the freeway. Experience for

Has gotten worse and Beautify Fresno has not gotten that yet. Esqueda: we have been responsive to your call. Arias: only when there are 40 homeless but not when there are little. Maxwell:I remember placing calls to Code and it took weeks for a response.I could go for a dedicated

Code Team on Beautify.Esqueda: I don’t want to be labeled as “what past administration” did . Give us a chance. Esparza:I was hoping for a revised version. Dyer: this is revised. Esparza:Code Enforcement is very responsive under City Attorney’s office. 90% of what we get called

About is out of our hands.Helps us immensely to keep this as it is one of the most used requests of City. Not ready to relinquishing. Still waiting on Beautify Fresno proposal other than relying on volunteers. You have made it easier for us since last administration. We just dis-

Agree on the way. City attorney Sloan: It is a policy call to move these positions. I don’t think impact would be much. We do want to add some items to it. Maybe you can backfill that. 90 people in Code counting attorneys. @GarryBredefeld I am calm today he jokes. Beautify

Fresno is a good thing. I don’t see those people in the neighborhoods. I don’t think they have left freeway to neighborhoods. We all struggled with previous administration with Code. We already focus on landlords. We did harass the 90% of them was good just to go after the 10%

Bad ones. I don’t want to change Code that is working. Arias: Beautify Plan began as a brand before it came back with a plan and a budget. If i don’t go to Mayor or City Manger for a homeless encampment it doesn’t get done. We don’t have to track down people with Code currently.

Dyer:old budget for new Mayor and administration. We have a meeting with 15 partners for Freeway Offramp. Beautify Fresno is @MarkStandriff and Jaime. That is it. I wont take anything away from Sloan. If we can have some resources under City Manager will allow us to do more

Under Beautify Fresno and homeless. We want to focus on vacant homes as homeless entity gets those calls. We just want to add enforcement ability with these. Arias: This budget will add 100 positions. Administration could have added some positions. Code Enforcement before was re-

Sponsive but now brought to freeway cleanup. Dyer: we were not solving problem as homeless were just displaced from one Council District to another.Not solving problem. Now they are being housed. Chavez:Code Enforcement v HART? What is the connection? We spent on triage centers

It seems like we are replicating. Esqueda: We are just taking it to higher level. Enchanted these two programs. Chavez;Lets not frame it as we will take from one to another. Soria:We are in a scenario where we are robbing Peter to pay Paul. Things wouldn’t have happened without

A Council that was supportive as well as a Governor that provided housing for homeless. Rather than augmenting the effort Mayor now wants us to give up what is now working. It wasn’t working for a long time. I appreciate the effort. But there is a better way.I am proud of the

The Code team does.I don’t think this is the best path forward. Esqueda: We want to Beautify Fresno and Homeless are a key issue. We were not adding bodies so it was cost neutral but just shifting 14 positions over. Mayor: We wanted to return what was taken away from last admini-

-stration but returned to us. Esparza: So many needs in my district but it fits better under this new Economic Department. What did you tell me yesterday City attorney? Sloan: DPU staff does have citation authority. We didn’t know that. Esparza:some ability there for Mayor.

Esqueda: give us a chance to show what we can do the next 12 months. Maxwell:Call the Councilmembers. Simple to do. Esparza: last budget hearing there was a proposal to defund the Mayor’s office .It is our perogrative. Only Garry and I had the guts to vote for that. Chavez: We

Don’t want to not help homeless.We want to work collaboratively. No plan to take Public Utilities. We want to be responsive. We just want to be sure it happens. The Las t6 months have been better (with new administration).GeorgeannWhite:just as a legal process we want to put in

The charter. Things were not handled correctly last time by administration. Some grey areas we are not comfortable. We have to say something as wont ever be able to bring it up. Hopefully never comes up. Sloan:City Attorney has ability to prosecute municipal violations. Council

Has authority too as well as Mayor in the some instances. Esparza: if my motion from Monday passes what does that leave you? Esqueda: leave us with 4 memebers. Arias: thank you for taking this light hearted. Public:@LovesMercy HART and Beautify Fresno seems for appearance only.

Make long-term goal be to help homeless. Let homeless have a voice about their needs too. More social workers needed to get to root of problem. An outside advocate is needed. @LisaYFlores1 Need to gut Beautify Fresno as it is kingdom building and not solving the problem.

Homeless issue is huge problem. It is now reaching north Fresno. Used to be solution was just to leave them in District 1. Need to ask Dez Martinez why her camp works.

Interim City Clerk Brianna Parra. Would like a Deputy Clerk position NOTE:Chavez says they are having sound issues again (I can hear find on YouTube)

They are now back. Clerk Office would like 5 permanent temporary interpreters in Spanish, Punjabi, Hmong and Sign Language .They will work less than 29 hours a week. This will help save money as we are currently paying outside firm. Would like to upgrade Chambers too such as new

Screen. Took over Copy Center in January of this year. 95% of Form 700 filers did so on time. 56 meetings held last year. Have decreased our outsourcing by 20%. Translation costs are $37. 000. Arias: there will be benefits for interpreters?White:There will be benefits so we hope

That will attract interpreters. Arias: lets wait until we have the process down. Esparza:Interepeters? A:.75 Parra: Tv on Dais is old and unusable. We want to replace with touch screen. Allow zooming of maps etc.Phase two would be replacing screen.@kmkarbassi Jokes if today’s

Sound issue was to get us to vote for this? Motion to approve these . Dyer: that is our budget too.White:software is not in budget. Maxwell: age of cameras? My grandma can’t see me on tv. Parra: I think everything but lighting is old. Copy Center is fully staffed. Needs more

Staff then. White: we will work on additional methodology that will help citywide.Soria: glad we are keeping Copy Center. Can we go back to Granicus? Too much scrolling nor lets me email? Arias:Can you direct Mayor and IT to figure out best forward path? Soria: agree. IT will

Let us out of contract with 30 day notice. Public:@LisaYFlores1 I agree that the current system is frustrating. Takes twice as long to find information. Asks Chavez that Also several people have had their hands up but wasn’t called on. Can you still call on them? Next:Yvonne

Spence was released but no reason for termination. We want her reinstated. Express concerns of black leadership. Worse City for Black painted a bleak outlook in Fresno. She was the only black female leader. Nobody is sounding the alarm,

City attorney’s Office Budget; Sloan Says it is all about the staff.

Bought 10 Chevy Electric Bolts but vandalism at chargers has forced workers to drive them home to charge. Perhaps fenced in area ?

@GarryBredefeld Commends City Attorney’s office and your staff. Make motion for Mobile Home inspectors and other items listed in the chart. Arias seconds the motion. Sloan:additional abatement crew would be good too. iPad for inspectors have aged. Soria:why didn’t we upgrade

iPads during CARES? Sloan: we did laptop upgrades but did not. We will need a supervisor if we are adding these positions. Upgrading Accela. Vehicles for each position added. Sloan will email his list to councilmembers. Public:@LCJandA urges funding for illegal rent increases pro

-reaction. We ask $6 million. Identify an outside law firm too.

Henry is leading it.

Cannabis Equity Grant added. Community Coordinator. Special Revenue line is Grant

3 new employees and their costs.

Next:

This oversees Retirement ISF and Employee Termination too. Debt services is about 50%.

Built in $200,000 for Redistricting and there is also Animal Shelter.

Retirement Office helps retirees and current employees. Arias: on paperwork the Mayor’s office decrease in employees in cost but you have actually added employees? How did that happen? Do these employees stay reporting to you? Esqueda: i can reach out to them easier. Arias: we

Esparza: overall budget grew? Henry: primary driver is not employees but animal shelter and cannabis grant. Soria:why under Mayor/city manager? Henry; previous mayor wanted that. Esqueda” by 2023 Animal Shelter will be in a different department. Bredefeld:creating right people in

This slide? Who are right people and who is wrong people? Esqueda: getting gang people /anyone who has had tough time accessing education etc. Get them move to jobs. Mayor:inclusive language means more targeted hiring such as women to decrease poverty with workforce, trade

Schools. Amazon hired many people who wee on unemployment the year before. Bredefeld: i understand but language is terrible. Mayor: things like Advance Peace is to get people to drop out of gangs and get a jobs. Bredefeld: anyone unemployed who are not gang members or poor neigh-

Borhood are not included from that the language says. Soria: framing isn’t correct. Mayor: I will let you write my vision Statement next year he jokes. Bredefeld: we want to hire most qualified person.Arias: motion $5 m for H St food vendor program. Soria: people on zoom can’t

Hear again. Short break again to fix that. They are back now. Public:Dez Martinez:HART Team and Cahoots. We thought Cahoots were better as they didn’t use PD officers. HART will still Polo shirts but have bullet proof vests and PD vehicles. Other things PD officers could be used

@LovesMercy Brandi: echo with Dez concerns. Social workers Client based approach. Fix holes in services to prevent people from becoming homeless to start with. Resources equitably distributed. Karbassi: any requests from staff that has not been addressed? A: No. Chavez: flex-

Ability for mayor’s office (?). Next Council Budget led by Henry.Mirrors your page in your handout. Karbassi: one of my solution is to pay for our offices from ACE budget ( i think that is what he said).so we don’t drain it and the councilmembers who use more space pay for it.

@District5Chavez thinks an additional $50,000 for Council President. Not for me this year but for Esparza next year. They have to travel quite a bit. @LisaYFlores1 Wondering why Arias has the smallest budget and how can Soria get more as she does fabulous work? End this segment.

Chavez: thanks those for the staff and those that followed along these past few days as we went through budget. Council will now move on to deliberating the budget. Tomorrow 9 am as part of Regular Council meeting.

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