FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Fresno City Council members spent more than 12 hours in session Thursday as they considered several proposed ballot measures.
The meeting, which lasted well into the night, focused on a series of measures that are part of the city’s Good Governance campaign.
“We’re shaking things up a little bit by considering this reform,” Fresno City Councilmember Nelson Esparza said.
Among the items on the agenda were financing for the city’s Southeast Development Area, or SEDA, plan; the future of a proposed transportation tax to replace Measure C funding; proposed changes to an elected city official’s term limit; and a proposed Redistricting Advisory Committee.
Councilmember Tyler Maxwell said the proposed redistricting committee was intended to create a process that would be more difficult for future councils to alter.
“This is something that we want to get codified in the city charter so that it can’t be changed easily by future city councils,” Maxwell said.
When it came to the proposed Measure C replacement tax, council members voted 6-1 in favor of the measure. Measure C is scheduled to expire in June of next year.
RELATED: City of Fresno’s Measure C replacement tax heads to November ballot after vote
Mayor Jerry Dyer warned that without the funding source, dozens of city workers could lose their jobs and public transit services could be affected.
“So it’s urgent for us to have it, to have Measure C,” said Yonas Paulos, a veterans advocate.
According to officials, the city’s general fund solution to a $54 million gap would direct funding to city transportation services, with some money remaining. The measure will now move on to the ballot.
The proposed Redistricting Advisory Committee did not receive enough support from councilmembers. The item failed on a 4-3 vote, with Councilmembers Miguel Arias, Annalisa Perea, Brandon Vang and Nick Richardson voting against it, while Maxwell, Mike Karbassi and Esparza voted in favor.
“The idea is to take a lot of the politics out of it. I’m not saying or guaranteeing it’s going to be a perfect process, but I do think what we’re proposing gets us closer to a more perfect process,” Maxwell said.
Currently, Fresno’s city council members draw the city’s district map. Under the proposal, residents would have taken a larger role in that process.
The council also removed the “No Debt on Development Act,” which would have placed limits on funding for the SEDA plan, from Thursday’s agenda.
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