Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Tax Vote Should've Been 50/50 For Parks & Police: Ashjian
GV-Wire-1
By gvwire
Published 7 years ago on
August 20, 2018

Share

It has been said, “Two men look through the same jail cell walls, one sees mud and one sees stars.” Certainly, this is the way that I see the Fresno parks sales tax initiative.
First, I think some background is in order.

Portrait of Brooke Ashjian
Opinion
Brooke Ashjian
At the ultimate fallout of the Great Recession, Fresno’s city government was debt-laden. This was the result of expensive borrowing to provide, among other things, minor infrastructure patchwork. At that point, nearly every budget line item was on the chopping block.

Decimated Parks System Points to the Need

It goes without saying that the parks department wasn’t remotely close to the highest priority. Budget figures from 2009 through today are evidence of the department’s decimation. For the layman, the brown lawns at Fresno’s parks served as the obvious sign.

But a fundamental question must be asked: Who will go to parks if they are not safe?
Years of Fresno’s poor ranking on parks surveys led to a push by then-Fresno Unified School Board President Luis Chavez and myself to open up Fresno Unified playgrounds, fields, and pools for weekend and after-hours use to help ease the burden off the parks department. After all, these facilities do belong to the public.
Elsewhere, the budget for the Fresno Police Department was placed on life support. Due to budget constraints, taxpayers had to reckon with the notion that the burden of ensuring public safety would be temporarily shared between a leaner roster of officers and residents.
The story of Fresno’s financial turnaround, however, was written at the negotiating table. The path to restored credit ratings, rosier financial health, and improved services began with one man: Jacky Parks.

Fresno Police Went Without to Help City Rebound

As the then-president of the Fresno Police Officers Association, Parks brokered a deal to take the brunt of the fiscal fallout.
Officers elected to forego raises and other incentives, and the department phased out positions to ease payroll and benefits costs — all to help the city get back on its feet.
Meanwhile, Fresno’s municipal government pension system is nationally recognized for its financial health.
Now we focus on today, where a concerted push — sponsored by nonprofits and donors — funds an initiative to revitalize, maintain, and build parks. The effort has been nothing short of impressive: polls funded, thousands of signatures gathered.

Mayor Brand vs. Mayor Swearengin

But a fundamental question must be asked: Who will go to parks if they are not safe?
This fight has pitted Mayor Lee Brand against former Mayor Ashley Swearengin over the city’s priorities.

The parks effort has been nothing short of impressive: polls funded, thousands of signatures gathered.
While Mayor Brand’s varying stances on what do with a proposed sales-tax hike made little headway, it did force a reckoning and a bit of attempted legislative sausage-making with Swearengin and other proponents of the parks tax.
Attempting to “split the baby” between 60% funding for parks and 40% for public safety (likely acceptable to Team Swearengin) or an even split between the two priorities (acceptable to Team Brand) led nowhere.
Facing the most dangerous environment since the passage of the Crime Bill, thanks in part to AB109 and Propositions 47 and 57, shouldn’t the men and women putting their lives on the line be entitled to a piece of the action?
Those on the force took sacrifices when Fresno’s future looked more like those of Detroit and Stockton than of San Francisco. More importantly, these men and women make sacrifices every day at work.

Don’t People Like Both Green and Blue?

In the movie “Matilda,” the child asked her father, a seller of shabby used cars, “Can’t we just sell good cars, Dad? Don’t people want to buy good?”
Which begs the question, “Can’t we just split it 50/50. Don’t people like both colors, green and blue?”
Businessman Brooke Ashjian represents Area 7 (Bullard High district) on the Fresno Unified School District Board of Trustees.
Chart of Fresno for Parks funding breakdown

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

UP NEXT

Sanger Police Seek Public’s Help to Find Missing Teen

Kings County Sheriff Announces Retirement After Nearly 30 Years in Law Enforcement

1 hour ago

General Mills to Remove Artificial Colors From All Its US Cereals and Foods

1 hour ago

‘Who’s Running the White House?’ Trump Brings Back ICE Raids on Farms, Restaurants

U.S. immigration officials on Tuesday walked back limits on enforcement targeting farms, restaurants, hotels and food processing plants just...

16 minutes ago

16 minutes ago

‘Who’s Running the White House?’ Trump Brings Back ICE Raids on Farms, Restaurants

35 minutes ago

Granite Park Eviction Lawsuit Heads Toward Trial

Mark Kismet, 50, who is considered at-risk went missing on Friday, June 6, 2025, in Clovis near Harlan Ranch is still missing according to the Clovis Police Department on Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Clovis PD)
59 minutes ago

Missing Clovis Man Found Dead. No Foul Play Suspected

Kings County Sheriff Dave Robinson announced he will retire on November 24, 2025, ending a nearly 30-year career and prompting the county to consider options for his replacement. (Kings County SO)
1 hour ago

Kings County Sheriff Announces Retirement After Nearly 30 Years in Law Enforcement

1 hour ago

General Mills to Remove Artificial Colors From All Its US Cereals and Foods

2 hours ago

US FDA to Shorten Review Time for Drug Developers Under New Voucher Program

2 hours ago

Physician Warns Fresno County Supervisors About Jail’s Medical Provider, Private Equity Co.

2 hours ago

Houthi Official Says Group Will Intervene to Support Iran Against Israel

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend