The Fresno County Board of Supervisors must’ve had somewhere else to be.
Tee times at Fort Washington? Lunch reservations at Richard’s? A matinee screening of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”?
Anywhere but Room 301 of the Hall of Records, where the five county supes approved a $5.2 billion (that’s billion with a “B”) final budget in less time than it takes to bake a pot roast.
Fresno County’s 2024-25 budget hearings began at 9:30 Monday morning and concluded at 11:02 with a unanimous vote. That’s 92 minutes – much of it spent by county staff and the supervisors themselves thanking each other and patting themselves on the back for the terrific job they’re doing.
Opinion
Ninety-two minutes worth of public discourse for a $5.2 billion spending plan ? That’s not government efficiency. That’s an opaque rush job.
And county officials wonder why there is so little general understanding (and local media coverage) about county government.
Paul Nerland, the County Administrative Officer who oversees a workforce of more than 8,400 employees across 20 departments, appeared to have the public in mind during his introductory remarks.
“I never want to forget why we’re here,” Nerland said, adding “everything we do” is focused on “improving the quality of life for all” and “providing excellent public service for our diverse community.”
After that, however, taxpayers quickly became an afterthought as county officials breezed through the budget approval process with a bare minimum of public input and transparency.
Compared to the city of Fresno’s arduous budget hearings – detailed presentations by each department head spread over four days , followed by separate meetings for council amendments and final votes – the county’s process felt like an official rubber-stamping of decisions and negotiations that took place behind closed doors.
Unprompted civics lesson
Third-term supervisor Buddy Mendes, a board member since 2015, seemingly wouldn’t have it any other way.
After giving an unprompted civics lesson on how city and county governments are structured differently, Mendes ruefully recalled a time when he and fellow supervisors had to sit through budget presentations that reminded him of old-timey cartoons.
“They would bring the department heads out and basically make them do a dance out here for (us), and it was all for nothing,” Mendes said. “It was all for show. This board … we just get in here, we do our business and we don’t play a lot of games.”
Mendes has been in government for so long – too long, frankly – that he forgets the No. 1 rule: It’s not about him.
Those budget presentations that Mendes considers a waste of time serve an important purpose. They allow interested members of the public a rare glimpse into the inner workings of local government and how things operate.
When a police chief or public works director gives a detailed presentation to an elected body about how the tax dollars allocated to their departments are being spent, he or she isn’t just speaking to those on the dais. They’re talking to everyone who cares enough to listen. Those people then become better informed citizens.
And when elected officials pose questions to department heads during budget hearings, it isn’t simply for “show” as Mendes suggests. Those questions give the public valuable insight into the priorities of the people they elect to serve.
Little substantive discourse
Instead, the county supervisors approved a $345 million budget for the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office with little substantive discourse. Sheriff John Zanoni didn’t have to explain why his office expense line item shot up 79% (to $817,702) from the previous year. Or why his department needs 40 new patrol vehicles valued at $2.8 million or a new $133,416 jet boat. Or anything else.
The only question to Zanoni came from Supervisor Steve Brandau, who wanted to ensure $15,000 was available for sheriff patrols on Christmas Tree Lane’s two pedestrian nights.
While it’s nice Brandau is focused on minor details, the public deserves a better, more clear understanding of the big picture. Which simply isn’t possible when a $5.2 billion budget gets aired and approved in 92 minutes.
Nerland, the CAO since December 2021, made a comment during Monday’s hearing that spoke to the general lack of understanding regarding county government.
“My own son asks, ‘What does the county do?’ ” Nerland said.
County government does a heckuva lot – more than most people realize. But it’s not enough to post a 390-page budget on a website a couple weeks in advance and pay for two public notices (including one in The Bee) and call that sufficient public outreach.
The county clerk set aside two full days for budget hearings. That it got done in one morning session, in time for brunch, speaks volumes about that disconnect.
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